ib 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


STATUE    OF    KAMEHAMEHA    I. 


THE  PARADISE  OF  THE 
PACIFIC 

THE    HAWAIIAN   ISLANDS 


BY 

G.   WALDO   BROWNE 

AUTHOR  OF  "TWO  AMERICA^N  BOYS  IN  HAWAII 
"THE  WOODRANGER,"  ETC. 


lllusttatetj 


BOSTON 
DANA   ESTES    &   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Gift  of  C.  A.  Kofoid 


Copyright,  igoo 
BY  DANA  ESTES  AND  COMPANY 


(Colonial  Press 

Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H.  Simonds  &  Co. 
Boston.  U.  S.  A. 


IBsf 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  CAPTAIN  COOK'S  DISCOVERY         .        .        .  ,      .         1 

II.  THE  ISLAND  WONDERLAND.          ....       13 

III.  A  PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE 22 

IV.  THE  NAPOLEON  OF  THE  PACIFIC          ...       40 
V.  ANCIENT  HAWAIIAN  RELIGION     ....       61 

VI.  THE  LAST  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  OLD  FAITH        .       72 

VII.  MISSIONARY  WORK       ....                  .87 

VIII.  THE  HAWAIIAN  MAGNA  CHARTA         .                  ,       99 

IX.     RISE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 116 

X.     INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS 134 

XL  THE     JAPANESE     AND    CONTRACT    LABOUR    IN 

HAWAII •     146 

XII.  THE  CHINESE  IN  PARADISE                            .         .     156 

XIII.  ANNEXATION 168 

XIV.  VISTAS  OF  OAHU 181 

XV.  GRIM  MOLOKAI      ...                                   .196 

XVI.     PICTURESQUE  MAUI 205 

XVII.     THE  ISLAND  BUILDER 218 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTKATIONS. 


PAGE 

STATUE  OF  KAMEHAMEHA  I.  ...          Frontispiece 

CAPTAIN  COOK 4 

VALLEY  ON  MAUI             6 

DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  COOK 10 

AROUND  KAENA  POINT 14 

LAVA  HEAP 18 

MANGOES 20 

ANCIENT  WAR  CANOE 26 

HAWAIIAN  CHIEF  WITH  FEATHER  HELMET   ...  30 

A  GROUP  OF  KUKUI  TREES 32 

HULA  DANCERS 36 

SHORE  OF  HILO  BAY       .        .        .                 .        .        .  40 

SHORE  OF  HILO  BAY 42 

DIAMOND  HEAD 46 

NATIVE  BOATS 48 

NEAR  THE  PALI 50 

SCREW  PALM 52 

HONOLULU  HARBOUR 56 

SULPHUR  ROCKS 58 

HANALEI  RIVER       ........  62 

RUINS  OF  AN  ANCIENT  HAWAIIAN  TEMPLE           .        .  66 

INTERIOR  OF  A  NATIVE  HOUSE 70 

OUTRIGGER  BOATS   .  74 


X  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

A  BANYAN  TREE 78 

PALM  GROVE  IN  PRINCESS  RUTH'S  GARDENS         .         .  84 

QUEEN  KAPIOLANI  ........  88 

GRASS  HOUSE 92 

LAHAINA  MORMON  SETTLEMENT 96 

NATIVE  SHRIMP  CATCHER 100 

NATIVE  COOKERY 104 

HARVESTING  SUGAR 108 

WAIKIKI  BEACH  AND  DIAMOND  HEAD           .         .         .  112 

A  TARO  PATCH 116 

QUEEN  EMMA 118 

KING  KALAKAUA 120 

BANANA  BLOSSOM  AND  FRUIT 122 

ROYAL  FUNERAL.     KALAKAUA  LYING  IN  STATE  .        .  124 

QUEEN  LILIUOKALANI 126 

GOVERNMENT    BUILDING    AND    STATUE    or    KAMEHA- 

MEHA  1 128 

QUEEN'S  GUARD  AND  BARRACKS    .        .        .        .        .  130 

PROCLAMATION  OF  JULY  4,  1894 132 

VIEW  OF  HONOLULU  FROM  THE  PUNCHBOWL         .        .  134 

QUEEN  LILIUOKALANI 136 

SUGAR  MILL .         .  138 

RICE  FIELDS 140 

A  BANANA  PATCH 142 

STEAMERS  PLYING  BETWEEN  THE  ISLANDS    .         .         .  144 

JAPANESE  LABOURER'S  HOUSE 146 

JAPANESE  LABOURERS'  HOUSES 148, 

MERCHANT'S  HOUSE  AND  GROUNDS         ....  152 

WAIANAE          .                  156 

A  BAMBOO  TREE 158 

COCOANUT  ISLAND,  CORAL  REEFS           ....  160 

UMBRELLA  TREES    .                                            .                  .  162 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xi 

PAGE 

SANFORD  B.  DOLE 16£L 

PRIVATE  RESIDENCE 172 

SURF  BATHING,  DIAMOND  HEAD 176 

A  HAWAIIAN  DINNER  PARTY 178 

QUEEN'S  HOSPITAL 180 

MERCHANTS'  COUNTRY  RESIDENCES         ....  182 

PALM  WALK,  HOSPITAL  GROUNDS           ....  184 

NUUANU  AVENUE 186 

PRIVATE  RESIDENCE 188 

NATIVE  GRASS   HUT 190 

HAWAIIAN  STYLE  OF  RIDING 192 

SERIES  OF  CASCADES       .                  194 

LANDING  CATTLE  THROUGH  SURF            .         .         .         .  196 

SCENE  ON  VOLCANO  ROAD       .         .'..-'.         .         .         .  198 

VIEW  NEAR  HILO              200 

COCOANUT  GROVE 202 

CRACKS  IN  LAVA  CRUST,  HALEAKALA    ....  206 

MAKING  IMPRESSIONS  OF  COINS  IN  HOT  LAVA      .         .  208 

MONUMENT  TO  CAPTAIN  COOK         .         .         .         .         .  210 

LAVA  LAKE 212 

WIMANO  BLUFF 214 

A  FERN  FOREST 216 

SCENE  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  THE  VOLCANO          .         .         .  218 

RAINBOW  FALLS,  HILO 220 

DESCENT  TO  LAVA  LAKE,  KILAUEA        ....  222 

THE  CRATER 226 


THE 

PARADISE   OF   THE    PACIFIC. 

CHAPTER  I. 

CAPTAIN    COOK'S    DISCOVERY. 

r  I  ^HE  seafarer  crossing  the  Pacific  Ocean  under 
"*•  the  imaginary  line  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer, 
sailing  from  Cape  St.  Lucas,  at  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Lower  California,  due  west  for  over 
eight  thousand  miles,  or  one-third  of  the  distance 
around  the  globe,  meets  with  only  a  solitary  spot 
of  land  in  all  that  long  water  journey.  Should  he 
traverse  the  sea  in  a  slightly  northwesterly  direc- 
tion, from  Panama  to  Japan,  he  would  make  a  trip 
of  equal  length  and  loneliness,  passing  midway 
on  his  voyage  the  same  ocean  isle  as  before.  If 
he  should  start  from  San  Francisco,  bound  to 
Queensland,  he  would  again  compass  his  stupen- 
dous passage  greeted  by  the  same  lonely  sentinel 

l 


2  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

of  the  mighty  deep.  But  this  time  he  would  find 
soon  after  passing  this  spot  innumerable  islands, 
isles,  and  coral  reefs  scattered  all  along  his  way. 
On  the  north,  however,  not  a  speck  dots  the 
watery  expanse  until  the  polar  lands  are  reached. 

This  breakwater  of  the  Central  Pacific,  which 
old  ocean  has  tried  in  vain  to  swallow  for  num- 
berless ages,  is  Kauai,  the  most  northerly  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  Forming  a  happy  resemblance 
to  a  huge  cornucopia  of  360  miles  curve  from 
northwest  to  southeast,  between  latitude  18°  55' 
and  22°  20'  N.,  and  longitude  154°  55'  and  160° 
15'  W.,  this  group  of  islands  is  the  most  north- 
erly cluster  of  the  Polynesian  Archipelago. 

While  numbering  twelve  in  all,  four  of  these 
islands  are  really  nothing  but  the  brown  heads 
of  rocky  pillars  thrust  forbiddingly  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  deep,  and  the  fifth  is  too  small  and 
meagre  in  its  resources  to  afford  a  population, 
which  leaves  the  poet's  "  seven  sunny  isles  of  the 
southern  seas."  Beginning  with  the  point  of  this 
horn  of  plenty  and  running  southward  the  list 
of  eight  comprises  Niihau,  80  square  miles  in 
area;  Kauai,  590  miles;  Oahu,  600  miles;  Mo- 
lokai,  270  miles;  Maui,  760  miles;  Lanai,  150 
miles ;  Kahoolawe,  63  miles ;  Hawaii,  4,210  miles 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  DISCOVERT.  3 

in  extent.  The  entire  group  contains  6,740  square 
miles,  or  about  the  amount  of  territory  of  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  Hawaii  having  almost 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  area. 

The  written  history  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
covers  a  period  of  less  than  a  century  and  a  quar- 
ter, beginning  with  the  discovery  of  Captain  Cook 
in  1778.  Kunning  into  this  from  the  centuries- 
before  there  is  another  story  told  by  the  tonguer 
the  traditions  of  an  uncivilised  race.  Behind 
these  vague  accounts  of  warlike  deeds  and  relig- 
ious mysticisms,  there  is  yet  another  era  por- 
trayed on  the  scrolls  of  the  silent  ages.  This 
takes  us  back  into  the  misty  past  thousands  of 
years,  —  back  to  a  period  when  all  the  waters  were 
locked  in  crystal  prisons,  and  plant  and  animal  life 
were  unknown.  The  war  of  the  elements  ensued  ; 
the  ice  king  retreated  before  the  equatorial  god ; 
the  silence  of  the  solitude  was  broken  by  the 
grinding  and  crashing  of  the  glaciers.  The  white 
pinnacles  of  the  ice  floes  melted  away,  and  in 
their  place  of  desolation  rose  the  mountains  of  a 
productive  land;  instead  of  the  icy  fields  and 
frozen  spikes  came  fertile  valleys,  with  trees, 
plants,  and  flowers ;  in  place  of  the  bitter  cold, 
the  balmy  climate ;  on  the  scene  of  lif  elessness^ 


4  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

a  race  of  human  beings.  This  is  the  mysterious 
and  awe-inspiring  picture  of  the  birth  of  a  world. 

Captain  Cook's  discovery  of  this  group  of  islands 
was  an  accident.  The  British  government,  pleased 
with  this  great  navigator's  previous  voyages  of 
exploration  in  the  then  unknown  Pacific  Ocean, 
with  the  counsel  and  assistance  of  Lord  Sandwich 
of  the  Admiralty,  fitted  him  out  for  a  third  trip, 
placing  under  his  command  the  two  ships  Resolu- 
tion and  Discovery.  He  sailed  from  Plymouth, 
England,  July  12,  1776,  only  eight  days  after  the 
signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  by 
the  representatives  of  the  thirteen  colonies  of 
America. 

Captain  Cook's  orders  were  to  revisit  the  islands 
of  the  southern  seas,  where  he  .had  twice  wintered, 
"  to  disseminate  and  naturalise  "  some  of  the  useful 
animals  of  Europe  in  tnat  remote  region,  and  to 
find  a  northern  passage  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
He  cruised  around  in  the  Polynesian  Archipelago 
for  a  year  and  a  half,  leaving  on  the  different  islands 
those  domestic  animals  which  have  proved  of  such 
value  to  the  inhabitants.  Then  he  sailed  from 
the  Society  Islands  on  his  way  to  the  north. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  January,  1778,  he  sighted 
the  island  of  Oahu,  and,  sailing  along  its  south- 


CAPTAIN    COOK. 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  DISCOVERY.  5 

western  coast,  the  next  day  he  discovered  the 
islands  of  Niihau  and  Kauai.  The  following 
morning,  January  20th,  he  anchored  at  Waimea, 
on  the  shore  of  Kauai,  a  place  noted  in  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  natives  as  having  been  the  battle-ground 
of  ancient  kings. 

As  the  vessels  sailed  up  the  coast,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  island  began  to  appear  in  large 
groups,  alarmed  and  mystified  over  the  arrival  of 
the  strange  ships.  In  such  numbers  did  the 
natives  rush  to  the  water's  edge,  as  the  first  boat 
started  for  the  shore,  Captain  Cook  ordered  a 
volley  of  shot  to  be  fired  over  their  heads.  One 
of  the  excited  mob  was  killed,  but,  as  the  firing 
was  not  continued,  the  natives  received  their 
visitors  in  a  friendly  manner.  Presents  were 
exchanged,  and  the  newcomers  were  highly  pleased 
with  what  they  saw. 

After  staying  on  this  island  a  few  days,  and 
laying  in  a  fresh  stock  of  water  and  provision, 
the  English  ships  headed  away  to  Niihau,  where 
they  remained  until  February  2d.  Believing  he 
had  discovered  a  group  of  islands,  Captain  Cook 
named  them  for  his  patron,  Lord  Sandwich,  and 
set  sail  for  the  polar  regions,  on  what  he  fondly 
anticipated  was  his  homeward  voyage. 


6  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

In  sight  of  the  beach  at  Waimea  is  still  pointed 
out  a  large,  flat  rock,  bearing  the  mark  of  a  broad 
arrow,  claimed  to  have  been  made  by  Captain 
Cook  to  designate  the  place  of  his  first  landing. 
In  the  village  are  three  other  stones  with  similar 
markings  made  by  the  English  commander  for  the 
same  purpose. 

His  northern  voyage  proving  a  disappointment, 
though  he  explored  the  coast  of  Alaska,  Bering 
Strait,  and  the  Arctic  Ocean  until  finding  his 
progress  stopped  by  the  ice-fields,  Captain  Cook 
was  glad  to  return  to  the  south,  where  he  might 
spend  the  approaching  winter,  to  resume  his  search 
for  the  northern  passage  another  summer. 

On  the  morning  of  November  26th,  he  sighted 
for  the  first  time  the  island  of  Maui,  and  he 
anchored  at  Wailua.  The  news  of  his  visit  to 
Kauai  seemed  to  have  preceded  him  here,  for  he 
was  greeted  by  a  larger  crowd  than  before,  that 
considered  him  as  a  god,  and  his  followers  as 
supernatural  beings.  His  ships  were  thought  to 
be  moving  islands,  which  could  send  forth  thunder 
and  lightning  at  the  command  of  their  master. 
The  natives  showed  no  signs  of  hostility. 

After  laying  off  Maui  several  days,  during  which 
time  he  had  a  brisk  trade  with  the  inhabitants. 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  DISCOVERY.  1 

Captain  Cook  sailed  along  the  coast  until,  on  the 
the  thirtieth,  he  discovered  the  island  of  Hawaii. 
Judging  this  to  be  larger  and  of  more  importance 
than  the  others,  he  decided  to  make  its  circuit, 
which  took  him  seven  weeks  before  he  dropped 
anchor  in  the  ill-fated  bay  of  Kealakekua.  He 
had  called  at  numerous  villages  on  his  trip,  and 
everywhere  had  been  treated  with  generosity 
and  loaded  with  divine  honours.  Here  over  a 
thousand  canoes  swarmed  in  the  waters  around 
his  ships,  most  of  them  crowded  with  people,  and 
laden  with  the  richest  tributes  the  land  afforded, 
choice  fowls  and  hogs,  fruits  and  vegetables  of 
many  kinds  and  rare  excellence.  In  all  that  vast 
number  not  a  weapon  was  to  be  seen,  one  and  all 
having  come  to  pay  their  free  and  spontaneous 
worship  to  the  newcomers. 

No  sooner  had  the  English  commander  and  a 
portion  of  his  crews  gone  ashore,  than  the  natives 
announced  a  season  of  festivities  and  sacrificial  cere- 
monies to  their  visitors.  Captain  Cook  was  looked 
upon  as  the  reincarnation  of  their  god  Lono,  whose 
return  to  the  earth  their  high  priests  had  prophe- 
sied, and  he  was  escorted  to  the  heiau  or  temple 
built  in  his  honour,  while  the  people  and  chiefs, 
even  to  the  king,  prostrated  themselves  before  him. 


8  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

Captain  Cook  and  his  reckless  tars  quickly 
caught  the  spirit  of  their  tempters,  and  for  eight- 
een days  they  revelled  in  the  prodigal  simplicity 
of  their  worshippers.  There,  under  the  dome  of 
the  sleeping  Hualalai,  on  the  rich  lava  beds  builded 
by  this  mighty  volcano  in  the  centuries  unrecorded, 
and  fringed  with  tall,  sinuous,  dark-crested  cocoa- 
palms,  half  concealing  the  sea  below,  unrestrained 
nature  ran  riot  with  itself. 

Then  the  visitors  grew  overbearing  and  inde- 
pendent. The  temple  of  the  gods  was  turned 
into  an  observatory  ;  the  consecrated  platform  was 
transformed  into  a  sail-loft;  the  sacred  palisades 
of  the  heiau  were  carried  away  to  be  used  as 
fuel  to  cook  the  food  of  these  newcomers!  At 
first  amazed,  the  spectators  became  indignant. 
It  had  been  enough  that  their  rich  presents 
had  been  reciprocated  by  a  few  hatchets  and 
knives,  and  their  magnificent  gifts  of  feather 
mantles  and  helmets  had  been  taken  without 
thanks. 

Though  they  prudently  remained  peaceful,  it 
must  have  been  with  secret  pleasure  that  they 
saw  the  ships  sail  away  with  their  visitors  on 
February  4th. 

The   joy    of    the   islanders   proved   short-lived. 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  DISCOVERY.  9 

Off  Kawaihae  the  ship  Resolution  sprung  a  fore- 
mast in  buffeting  a  gale,  and  Captain  Cook 
returned  to  his  old  anchorage  to  repair  the 
damage.  Carpenters  were  sent  ashore  to  work 
upon  the  injured  mast,  when  the  natives  treated 
them  coldly.  The  king  was  away,  but  the  priests 
remained  friendly,  and  the  sailors  did  not  hesitate 
to  show  their  authority,  which  further  incensed 
the  people.  Some  of  them  stole  a  pinnace  for 
its  iron  fastenings,  which  so  angered  Captain 
Cook  that  he  resolved  to  capture  the  king,  who 
had  returned,  and  hold  him  as  a  hostage  until 
the  stolen  property  had  been  restored.  Protected 
by  a  body-guard  of  his  marines,  Cook  went  at  once 
to  the  home  of  the  aged  king,  who,  like  his  priests, 
still  kept  his  faith  with  them,  and  enticed  him  to 
go  on  board  the  ship. 

Already  the  natives  had  swarmed  in  the  waters 
about  the  vessels,  and  the  officer  left  in  command 
ordered  that  a  shot  be  fired  to  frighten  them  off. 
One  of  the  shots  took  effect  in  a  chief.  Mean- 
while the  chiefs  and  people  on  the  shore  were 
protesting  against  the  treatment  accorded  their 
king.  The  islanders  were  now  armed  with  spears 
and  hatchets,  and  so  threatening  did  the  mob 
become  that  Captain  Cook  advanced  with  all 


10  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

haste  possible.  Upon  reaching  the  beach  a  tall 
islander  sprang  in  front  of  him,  declaring  that  he 
had  killed  his  brother.  Thereupon  Cook  fired  but 
missed  him.  At  that  moment  some  one  from 
the  wild  rabble  threw  a  stone,  which  struck  Cap- 
tain Cook  and  brought  a  groan  from  him.  He 
now  fired  his  second  pistol,  killing  his  man  this 
time.  But  the  cry  of  anguish  coming  from  his 
lips  caused  one  of  his  assailants  to  shout : 
"  He  feels  pain  !  He  is  not  a  god  !  " 
The  islanders  now  rushed  upon  the  seamen  so 
furiously  that  they  were  compelled  to  beat  a  dis- 
orderly retreat,  four  of  their  number  being  killed. 
The  others  escaped  by  swimming  to  the  boats, 
leaving  their  commander  surrounded  by  the  ex- 
cited natives.  He  signalled  to  his  men  to  stop 
firing  and  come  to  his  assistance.  At  that  moment 
a  chief  ran  up  behind  him  and  plunged  an  iron 
dagger  through  his  body.  He  fell  face  downward 
in  the  water,  his  body  seized  and  dragged  away  by 
the  infuriated  mob. 

Firing  was  resumed  by  the  seamen,  but  the 
king  called  off  his  people  and  the  scene  became 
quiet.  Captain  Clark,  now  in  command,  as  soon 
as  he  deemed  it  expedient,  sent  ashore  for  the  body 
of  Captain  Cook,  though  only  a  portion  of  his 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  DISCOVERY.  H 

lower  limbs  was  to  be  found.  The  incensed  island- 
ers had  burned  the  rest,  except  the  heart,  which 
was  eaten  by  some  children  through  mistake, 
which  gave  rise  to  the  story  that  the  natives  were 
cannibals. 

Now  that  the  unhappy  affair  was  over,  the  people 
showed  genuine  sorrow  over  the  untimely  fate  of 
the  great  navigator,  whose  memory  is  revered  to 
this  day  by  the  Hawaiians.  Captain  Cook  was  a 
brave  and  efficient  officer,  doing  more  than  all 
others  toward  enlightening  the  world  in  regard 
to  the  islands  of  that  remote  quarter  of  the  globe ; 
but  he  was  quick-tempered,  and  possessed  un- 
bridled imperiousness,  which  brought  him  his 
death  at  the  hands  of  those  who  had  gratuitously 
provisioned  his  ships,  and  everywhere  lavished 
upon  him  the  attention  and  worshipfulness  due 
to  a  god.  j  If  carrying  to  the  enlightened  world  a 
knowledge  of  their  existence,  these  visitors  were  to 
leave  with  these  simple  people  a  disease  which  was  to 
render  sad  havoc  in  their  numbers  and  happiness. 

The  importance  Captain  Cook  attached  to  his 
discovery  of  these  islands  is  told  in  his  own  words, 
the  last  entry  he  made  in  his  journal  kept  of  that 
long  and  eventful  voyage : 

"  We  could  not  but  be  struck  with  the  singu- 


12  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

larity  of  this  scene;  and  perhaps  there  were  few 
on  board  who  now  lamented  our  having  failed 
finding  a  northern  passage  home  last  summer.  To 
this  disappointment  we  owed  our  having  it  in  our 
power  to  revisit  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  to  en- 
rich our  voyage  with  a  discovery  which,  though  last, 
seemed  in  many  respects  to  be  the  most  import- 
ant that  had  hitherto  been  made  by  Europeans, 
throughout  the  extent  of  the  Pacific  Ocean." 

The  memory  of  this  great,  but  unfortunate, 
navigator  is  preserved  by  a  white  concrete  monu- 
ment, erected  by  some  of  his  fellow  countrymen 
on  the  spot,  as  nearly  as  could  be  ascertained, 
where  he  fell.  It  bears  the  following  inscription : 

"  In  memory  of  the  great  circumnavigator, 
Captain  James  Cook,  R.  N.,  who  discovered  these 
islands  on  the  18th  of  January,  1778,  A.  D.,  and 
fell  near  this  spot  on  the  14th  of  February,  1779. 
This  Monument  was  erected  in  November,  A.  D. 
1874,  by  some  of  his  countrymen." 

Thus,  while  the  united  colonies  of  America  were 
fighting  their  first  war  for  independence  with  the 
mother  country,  a  son  of  the  latter  discovered  and 
explored  those  islands  in  the  distant  sea  which 
were  destined  to  become  eventually  a  part  of  the 
rising  republic. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    ISLAND    WONDERLAND. 

'THHE  last  and  largest  island  discovered  by  Cap- 
tain  Cook  was  called  by  the  natives  Hawaii, 
—  meaning  "Fiery  Java,"  and  pronounced  as  if 
spelled  Hah-wye-ee,  accent  on  second  syllable, — 
and  this  name  has  very  appropriately  been  adopted 
as  a  designation  for  the  entire  group  in  place  of 
that  of  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

The  coasts  of  these  islands  are  often  bold,  rocky, 
and  precipitous,  cliffs  rising  for  hundreds  of  feet 
perpendicularly  from  the  water.  Yet  there  are 
sheltered  bays,  and  Oahu  has  one  of  the  finest 
harbours  in  the  world.  There  are  at  different 
places  along  the  shores  dangerous  reefs,  beautiful 
fringes  of  coral,  or  long,  wide  stretches  of  yellow 
beach,  where  the  murmuring  tide  kissed  by  the 
trade-winds  plays  at  hide-and-seek  with  harmless 
glee. 

The  larger  portion  of  the  surface  of  the  islands 

13 


14  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

is  mountainous,  two  of  the  interior  peaks  reaching 
an  altitude  of  nearly  fourteen  thousand  feet ;  but 
at  their  foot  lie  rich  alluvial  plains,  plateaus,  and 
valleys,  with  silvery  streams  leaping  in  cascades 
from  the  overhanging  cliffs.  With  few  exceptions 
the  mountainsides  are  clothed  in  dense  growths 
of  temperate  zone  sturdiness,  while  the  lowlands 
abound  with  a  tropical  vegetation  of  a  perpetual 
green. 

Evidence  of  the  volcanic  origin  of  these  islands 
exists  on  every  hand,  from  the  dead  and  buried 
cones  of  Kauai  to  the  living  fires  of  Hawaii.  By 
this  it  will  be  observed  that  the  former,  as  well 
as  being  the  most  northerly,  is  the  oldest  of  the 
series.  This  theory  is  supported  by  the  fact  that 
only  two  cones  remain  on  this  isle,  and  these  on 
the  southeastern  slope.  All  others  have  been 
destroyed  by  the  march  of  years,  and  their  slopes 
covered  with  dense  forests.  The  land  having 
undergone  longer  change,  is  more  arable,  the  soil 
deeper,  and  the  vegetation  more  bountiful  than  on 
the  other  islands.  Encircled  by  beaches  of  silvery 
brightness,  with  valleys  and  hillsides  painted  by 
nature's  brush  a  green  that  never  fades,  Kauai  is 
the  "  Garden  Isle." 

Lying   in    a   westerly   direction,    about    fifteen 


THE  ISLAND    WONDEELAND.  15 

miles  distant,  is  Niihau,  resembling  it  in  physical 
features.  This  island  is  sparsely  settled,  its  in- 
habitants being  noted  for  the  manufacture  of  mats 
made  from  a  sort  of  rush  which  grows  only  on  this 
island  and  Kauai,  and  for  the  cultivation  of  yam, 
growing  almost  exclusively  here. 

Taura,  southwest  from  Kauai,  is  a  barren  rock, 
which  is  the  resort  of  innumerable  aquatic  birds, 
whose  eggs  are  sometimes  sought  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  windward  islands. 

Oahu,  the  following  island  on  the  southeasterly 
course,  produces  more  recent  and  numerous  indica- 
tions of  its  volcanic  formation ;  but  here  are  valleys 
of  great  fertility,  and  a  mountain  range  of  rugged 
appearance.  On  account  of  its  fine  harbour  at 
Honolulu,  it  is  known  as  the  "  Mistress  of  the 
Sea." 

Maui,  next  in  order,  attests  its  younger  age, 
having  several  craters,  the  largest  and  highest  of 
which  is  Haleakala,  "the  house  of  the  sun," 
which  lifts  its  bulky  crest  ten  thousand  feet  into 
the  air,  being  the  largest  extinct  volcano  in  the 
world.  Maui  is  the  "  Switzerland  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands." 

South  of  Maui,  separated  by  a  channel  of  only 
a  few  miles  in  width,  is  Kahoolawe,  with  its  low- 


16  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

lands,  except  for  a  species  of  coarse  grass,  almost 
destitute  of  plant  life.  It  is  uninhabited,  stock 
owners  of  Maui,  to  which  island  it  no  doubt 
sometime  belonged,  having  it  as  pasturage  for 
their  flocks. 

Between  these  two  islands  rises  a  rocky  bar- 
rier, Molokini,  used  as  a  place  for  the  fishermen 
to  spread  their  nets. 

Lanai,  separated  from  Maui  by  a  channel  of 
ten  miles  in  width,  is  another  inhospitable  spot. 

East-southeast  of  Oahu  is  a  chain  of  volcanic 
mountains  nearly  equal  in  elevation  to  those  of 
Maui,  which  form  in  the  main  the  island  of 
Molokai,  a  long,  irregular  ridge,  with  little  level 
land  and  few  plantations,  and  the  unenviable  repu- 
tation of  being  the  lazaretto  of  exiled  lepers. 

The  youngest  and.  mightiest  of  the  group  is  the 
one  from  which  it  gets  its  name,  unfinished  Hawaii, 
still  smoking,  still  exhibiting  to  the  wondering 
beholder  the  sublime  agency  of  its  creation.  This 
island  is  famous  for  its  physical  grandeur  and 
volcanic  exhibitions.  The  legends  of  the  Hawaii- 
ans,  reaching  back  over  a  thousand  years,  fail  to 
mention  any  activity  of  volcanic  force  on  the  other 
islands.  The  fires  of  Maui's  mammoth  house  of 
the  sun  burned  out  before  man  beheld  its  riven 


THE  ISLAND    WONDERLAND.  17 

walls,  while  concerning  the  eruptions  of  the  lower 
and  lesser  craters  the  ancient  historian  is  equally 
silent.  What  a  grand,  yet  terrible,  spectacle  it 
must  have  been  when  all  the  flues  of  these  moun- 
tain furnaces  were  aglow  with  their  liquid  flame, 
which  in  their  bombardment  of  the  sky  fairly  set 
ablaze  the  moonless  heavens  and  the  eight  Ha- 
waiian seas !  But  if  tradition  fails  to  describe 
the  activity  of  the  volcanoes  of  the  other  islands, 
it  is  very  vivid  in  its  pictures  of  Hawaii's  volcanic 
outbreaks.  Mauna  Kea  (the  white  mountain), 
Mauna  Loa  (the  long  mountain),  Mauna  Haulalai 
(offspring  of  the  sun)  at  irregular  intervals  have 
each  displayed  their  awful  energies  in  convulsions 
that  have  rocked  the  island  like  a  cradle  on  the 
deep  and  flung  their  molten  contents  down  the 
slopes  to  the  sea.  A  still  more  realistic  repre- 
sentative of  the  fiery  powers  is  the  ever  active 
Kilauea,  with  a  crater  nearly  a  mile  in  circum- 
ference, the  largest  constant  volcano  in  the  world. 
With  a  uniformity  and  salubrity  of  climate 
unsurpassed,  the  mean  temperature  never  rising 
above  ninety  or  sinking  below  sixty-five  degrees, 
and  whose  southern  languor  is  continually  re- 
freshed by  the  ozone  breath  of  the  polar  seas ; 
with  plains  and  slopes  of  remarkable  fertility 


18  THE  PAEADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

covered  with  vast  cane-fields  and  sugar  planta- 
tions, groves  of  kingly  palms,  sturdy  ironwoods, 
delicate  tamarinds,  feathery  algarobas,  star-eyed 
oranges,  dusky  ohias,  snowy  candlenuts,  sunlit 
papaias,  umbrageous  breadfruits,  flowering  man- 
goes, wine-palms,  slender  cocoa-palms,  hardy 
pomegranates,  twisted  haus  and  widespreading 
umbrella-trees,  of  plants  and  vegetables,  the  fan- 
leafed  banana,  tree-like  plantain,  giant  fern, 
clinging  azella,  nutritive  yam,  bulburous  taro, 
crimson  strawberry,  and  many  others,  the  united 
offerings  of  the  tropical  and  temperate  zones  grow- 
ing side  by  side ;  with  a  flora  that  does  not  stop 
by  decorating  the  rich  alluvial  deposits  of  the  val- 
leys in  a  bewildering  array  of  flowers  and  remind- 
ers of  flowers,  but  fringes  the  brinks  of  the 
chasms  with  the  scarlet  ie-ie  and  spans  the  abyss 
with  a  network  of  gold  and  bronze  vines  tipped 
with  trumpet-shaped  blossoms,  tints  the  mist  of 
the  waterfalls  with  the  rainbow  hues  of  the  con- 
volvuli,  or  crimsons  with  the  transparent  leaves  of 
the  ohia  the  fiery  floods  of  the  craters ;  with  gor- 
geous vines  and  trailers,  magenta  blossoms  and 
passion  flowers,  embowering  the  homes  of  the  many 
races  of  men  living  here  in  harmony  and  content- 
ment ;  with  a  landscape  clothed  in  a  perpetual 


THE  ISLAND    WONDERLAND.  19 

green,  and  mountain-tops  floating  like  white  and 
brown  islands  in  cloudland;  with  their  summer 
seas  reflecting  the  azure  of  the  southern  skies ; 
with  its  beaches  of  a  dazzling  whiteness  fringed 
with  cocoa-palms ;  over  all  an  indescribable  charm 
of  solitude  and  drowsy  peacefulness,  to  him  who 
looks  for  the  sunny  side  of  nature  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  are  the  "  Paradise  of  the  Pacific/'  the 
Wonderland  of  the  World. 

In  vivid  contrast  to  Oahu's  Edenic  valleys  and 
Maui's  picturesque  slopes  rises  the  weather  side  of 
Hawaii,  lighted  by  that  huge  lamp  trimmed  by  no 
mortal  hand,  but  kept  bright  against  burning  sun 
and  waxing  moon  from  time  immemorial,  and 
overlooked  by  the  mountain  monarch  with  foot 
bathed  in  the  sea  and  whitened  head  swathed 
in  the  clouds.  Everywhere  the  grandeur  and  sub- 
limity of  the  scene  strikes  the  beholder  with  wonder 
akin  to  awe.  He  gazes  on  the  corrugated  streams 
of  congealed  lava,  on  the  broken  domes  of  vol- 
canoes long  since  burned  out,  on  the  furnace  fires 
of  Kilauea,  sees  with  his  own  eyes  the  startling 
evidence  of  the  internal  powers  that  have  builded 
the  mountains,  watches  the  crimson  fountains  play 
on  the  surface  of  the  lake  of  fire  and  the  fantas- 
tic figures  dancing  in  ghoulish  glee  at  their  escape 


20  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

from  the  Plutonian  dungeons  of  the  inner  earth, 
until  he  exclaims  in  dismay,  "  The  Inferno  of  the 
World ! " 

The  indigenous  plants  are  the  banana,  plantain, 
cocoanut,  breadfruit,  ohia  (native  apple),  sugar- 
cane, arrowroot,  sweet  potato,  taro,  strawberry, 
raspberry,  and  the  sacred  berry  oJielo.  The  im- 
ported plants  are  lime,  orange,  mango,  tama- 
rind, papaia,  guava,  and  all  edible  products  except 
those  named  above. 

If  prodigal  in  her  floral  gifts  nature  was  ex- 
tremely chary  in  her  bestowal  of  wild  and  domestic 
creatures,  and  the  fauna  of  the  islands  a  hundred 
years  ago  was  limited  to  dogs,  swine,  mice,  lizards, 
owls,  bats,  snipe,  plover,  ducks,  a  species  of  geese 
peculiar  to  the  place,  and  a  few  varieties  of  birds 
of  simple  song  and  not  very  brilliant  plumage.  It 
seems  probable  that  animal  life  was  almost  entirely 
lacking  here  when  first  peopled  by  the  human 
race. 

The  natives  accounted  for  the  remarkable 
uniformity  and  salubrity  of  the  climate  by  the 
following  legendary  tale  of  the  early  days  of  the 
islands : 

A  powerful  demi-god  ruling  over  Maui,  and 
having  his  dwelling  on  Haleakala,  got  angry  be- 


THE  ISLAND    WONDERLAND.  21 

cause  the  sun  shone  every  morning  on  the  moun- 
tains of  Hawaii  before  it  did  on  his  abode. 
Thereupon  he  caused  to  be  made  a  huge  net, 
which  he  carried  one  night  and  spread  it  quite 
over  his  rival.  As  a  result  the  rising  sun  got 
entangled  in  the  meshes  of  Maui's  big  web,  which 
had  been  woven  so  cunningly  that  the  harder  the 
sun  tried  to  break  away  the  more  his  rays  got 
mixed  up  in  the  gauze-like  structure.  Maui 
watched  the  struggle  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  his 
eye,  and  when  the  sun  had  got  tired  of  his  futile 
efforts,  he  offered  to  set  him  free  if  he  would 
promise  to  shine  on  him  and  Mauna  Loa  alike, 
never  too  hot  or  too  cold,  and  never  allowing  mist 
or  cloud  to  obscure  the  favoured  islands.  The  sun 
was  fain  to  obtain  his  freedom  upon  such  easy 
terms,  and,  agreeing  to  Maui's  demands,  received 
his  liberty.  Ever  since  he  has  bestowed  his 
favour  with  wonderful  equality  on  the  seven 
islands,  so  that  they  have  been  blessed  with  their 
remarkable  climate  and  temperature.  Fogs  or 
mists  have  never  risen  to  mar  the  sun's  splen- 
dour, and  lest  he  should  forget  his  promise  and 
shine  too  fervidly  on  his  children  of  the  sea,  he 
made  a  compact  with  the  north  wind  to  keep  per- 
petual vigil  over  him. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A   PICTUKESQUE    PEOPLE. 

/CAPTAIN  COOK  estimated  the  population  of 
^"^  these  islands  to  be  not  less  than  four  hundred 
thousand,  and  that  Hawaii  alone  contained  consid- 
erably over  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 

These  people  were  not  savages,  as  we  are  apt  to 
apply  the  term,  but  barbarians  of  a  milder  and 
more  progressive  type.  In  personal  appearance 
they  were  generally  above  medium  stature,  well 
formed,  with  muscular  limbs,  frank  countenance, 
and  features  often  resembling  the  Europeans. 
An  early  writer  in  describing  them  said :  "  Their 
gait  is  graceful  and  sometimes  stately.  The 
chiefs  in  particular  are  tall  and  stout,  and  their 
personal  appearance  is  so  much  superior  to  the 
common  people  that  some  have  imagined  them 
a  distinct  race.  This,  however,  is  not  the  fact; 
the  great  care  taken  of  them  in  childhood,  and 
their  better  living,  have  probably  occasioned  the 

22 


A  PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE.  23 

difference.  Their  hair  is  black  or  brown,  strong, 
and  frequently  curly ;  their  complexion  is  neither 
yellow  like  the  Malay  nor  red  like  the  American 
Indian,  but  a  kind  of  olive  and  sometimes  reddish 
brown.  Their  arms  and  other  parts  of  the  body 
are  often  tattooed,  but,  except  in  one  of  the  islands 
(Kauai),  this  is  by  no  means  as  common  as  in 
many  parts  of  the  southern  sea." 

They  belonged  to  a  branch  of  the  Polynesian 
race,  which  was  undoubtedly  of  Aryan  stock, 
migrating  at  a  remote  period  from  Asia  Minor 
through  India,  Sumatra,  and  Java  to  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Islands,  from  thence  advancing  slowly 
northward  to  New  Zealand,  Samoa,  Tahiti,  and 
Hawaii.  These  facts  are  well  substantiated  by 
the  close  affinity  of  the  names  of  localities,  men, 
and  physical  objects,  with  the  general  construction 
of  the  several  languages,  so  that  a  person  master- 
ing one  can  easily  understand  the  others. 

Early  accounts  of  the  people  have  been  pre- 
served through  an  order  of  priesthood,  which 
caused  to  be  committed  to  memory  the  more 
prominent  affairs  of  each  family,  so  that  handed 
down  from  father  to  son  successively  the  deeds  and 
genealogies  of  the  chiefs  could  be  traced  for  over 
forty  generations.  These  traditions,  a  pictures- 


24  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

que  background  for  its  romantic  modern  history, 
make  Hawaii  a  wonderland  in  verity.  Their 
legends  peopled  the  sea  and  sky  with  all  sorts  of 
weird  spirits  and  the  volcanic  craters  of  the  island 
world  with  demons  of  fantastic  figures  and  ter- 
rible demeanour ;  they  scintillated  with  deeds  of 
prowess  and  chivalry,  if  wilder  and  more  barbar- 
ous, none  the  less  valorous  than  those  performed 
by  the  mailed  knights  of  the  continental  world ; 
their  warriors,  without  shields  or  fear  of  death, 
sprang  to  battle  under  the  wings  of  the  great 
white  bird  of  Kane,  as  defiantly  as  the  rugged 
vikings  of  Northland  followed  the  dusky  ravens 
of  Odin;  their  sailors,  in  frail  craft  and  under 
the  sole  guidance  of  the  sun  and  stars,  navi- 
gated the  seas  for  thousands  of  miles,  and  achieved 
conquests  in  far  distant  lands ;  one  of  their  boldest 
mariners,  in  the  eleventh  century,  reached  the 
western  shore  of  America,  and  carried  back  to 
his  native  isles  as  captives  three  of  its  inhabi- 
tants ;  their  kings  and  priests  were  men  of  mighty 
stature,  proving  by  their  genealogies  a  descent 
from  Adam  and  a  kinship  with  the  gods. 

These  sages  describe  a  renowned  chief  by  the 
name  of  Hawaii,  a  great  fisherman  and  navigator 
in  ancient  times,  who,  on  one  of  his  long  cruises. 


A  PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE.  25 

discovered  two  islands  that  pleased  him  so  well- 
he  returned  and  brought  there  his  wife  and 
family.  The  islands  he  named  Maui,  for  his 
wife,  and  Hawaii-loa  for  himself,  and  this  family, 
the  legend  claims,  were  the  first  inhabitants  of 
the  islands. 

While  this  statement  is  to  be  looked  upon  with 
suspicion,  there  is  a  very  clear  account  of  an  emi- 
gration from  Samoa  in  the  sixth  century  under 
a  chief  named  Nanaula.  This  chief,  after  trouble 
with  some  of  his  relatives  in  regard  to  ruling  his 
native  isle,  gathered  a  portion  of  his  most  adven- 
turous followers  about  him ;  and  in  double  canoes, 
large  enough  to  hold  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
persons,  this  party,  accompanied  by  their  priests, 
taking  with  them  their  gods,  dogs,  swine,  fowls, 
and  seeds,  set  forth  into  the  unknown  sea  on  a 
voyage  of  discovery.  They  reached  Oahu  and 
Kauai,  which  they  found  unpeopled,  and  took 
peaceful  possession.  They  were  soon  followed  by 
a  few  others  from  Samoa  and  Tahiti,  when  immi- 
gration ceased  for  over  four  hundred  years. 

Then  another  warlike  chief  of  Samoa,  known  as 
Nanamoa,  not  satisfied  with  fighting  at  home,  set 
out  on  a  voyage  of  conquest,  eventually  coming 
to  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  A  long  and  desperate 


26  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

struggle  with  the  descendants  of  Nanaula  for  a 
supremacy  followed.  Other  incursions  succeeded, 
one  of  which  brought  from  Samoa  Paao,  a  high 
priest,  and  Pili,  a  warlike  chief,  and  Hawaii  passed 
under  the  sovereignty  of  these  two.  Intercourse 
was  maintained  with  the  southern  islands  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  according  to  all  accounts, 
an  unusually  active  period,  filled  with  romantic 
adventures,  wild  conquests,  and  perilous  voyages 
at  sea. 

Isolated  and  environed  by  water,  dependent  to 
a  considerable  extent  upon  the  fruits  of  the  sea 
for  their  living,  the  inhabitants  of  the  Pacific  islands 
naturally  partook  of  a  maritime  character.  The 
Hawaiian  was  in  his  true  element  when  disporting 
in  the  tide,  or  daring  the  dangers  of  old  ocean 
in  his  craft  with  its  curved  prow  and  clumsy- 
looking  outrigger. 

The  building  of  their  seagoing  craft,  with  the 
tools  the  mechanic  had  to  use,  required  no  small 
amount  of  time,  skill,  and  perseverance.  Thus  the 
builder  of  a  canoe  became  a  person  of  great  impor- 
tance, and  the  launching  of  his  craft  an  event 
celebrated  with  a  feast  and  the  sacrifice  of  a 
human  life. 

There  were  several  classes,  as  well  as  sizes  and 


A   PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE.  27 

shapes  of  canoes.1  The  principal  chiefs  had  boats 
from  fifty  to  seventy-five  feet  in  length,  two  feet 
in  width,  and  from  three  to  four  feet  in  depth. 
The  sterns  were  often  raised  to  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  in  height,  and  ornamented  with  crude  carv- 
ings of  grotesque  figures.  The  size  and  decora- 
tions were  supposed  to  indicate  the  rank  and 
dignity  of  the  chief. 

Next  to  these  were  the  sacred  craft  of  the 
priests,  their  ornaments  set  off  with  feathers. 
Small  houses  were  built  on  these,  containing  the 
image  of  some  god,  usually  in  the  shape  of  a  bird, 
and  many  coloured  feathers  decked  the  place.  Here 
the  prayers  for  the  welfare  of  the  little  fleet  were 
offered,  and  offerings  made  to  Lono,  the  god  of  the 
waters. 

Not  inferior  in  size,  though  less  ornamented, 
were  the  stoutly  built  war  canoes.  With  these 
the  sterns  were  made  lower  and  covered  so  as 
to  afford  protection  from  the  darts  and  missiles  of 
the  enemy.  The  bottom  was  round,  with  the 

upper  sides  narrow,  and  the  prow  curved  like 
the  neck  of  a  swan  and  finished  to  represent 

1  This  name  seems  to  have  originated  with  the  natives  of  Amer- 
ica, and,  since  the  discovery  of  this  continent  by  Columbus,  to 
have  been  applied  indiscriminately  to  the  smaller  water  craft 
of  the  uncivilised  races  wherever  found.  —  AUTHOR. 


28  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

the  head  of  some  bird.  In  order  to  give  the 
rowers  and  sail-managers  more  room  and  security 
than  on  the  narrow  edges,  a  sort  of  grating  made 
from  the  strong  wood  of  the  breadfruit-tree  was 
placed  over  the  hull.  The  fighting  men  were 
stationed  on  a  platform  in  the  forepart  of  the 
boat.  Ordinarily  these  craft  were  about  sixty 
feet  in  length,  and  capable  of  carrying  fifty 
warriors. 

There  were  single  canoes  built  in  very  much 
the  same  style  as  the  others,  hewn  from  the  trunk 
of  some  tree,  with  rounded  sides  and  sharp  ends. 
Then  there  were  the  big  double  canoes,  made  from 
two  tree-trunks,  and  sometimes  over  a  hundred  feet 
in  length. 

The  very  largest  of  the  canoes  were  made  from 
the  trees  that  had  drifted  down  there  from  the 
northwest  coast  of  America,  some  giant  pine 
caught  by  a  gale  and  borne  thither,  a  present 
of  the  waves  attributed  by  them  to  be  a  gift  from 
the  gods.  One  of  the  single-trunk  canoes  has  been 
known  to  be  over  a  hundred  feet  in  length.  In 
case  of  the  double-trunk  canoe  the  builders  had 
often  to  wait  years  before  a  proper  mate  to  the 
one  coming  first  would  be  sent  to  their  shores. 
The  coming  of  such  was  an  event  of  great  rejoic- 


A  PICTUBESQUE  PEOPLE.  29 

ing,  and  a  feast  followed  with  a  sacrifice  made  to 
the  gods. 

The  canoes  always  bore  particular  names,  which 
designated  some  important  incident  connected 
with  the  craft,  or  some  peculiar  characteristic  of 
the  boat  or  its  owner. 

The  navigators  of  those  days  had  a  certain 
knowledge  of  the  heavens,  and  the  five  planets, 
Mercury,  Mars,  Venus,  Jupiter,  and  Saturn,  were 
known  to  them  as  "the  wandering  stars,"  while 
they  grouped  the  fixed  stars  in  constellations. 
They  calculated  the  transit  of  the  sun  and  fixed 
the  equatorial  line.  With  such  understanding 
and  a  trained  observation  of  the  winds  and  cur- 
rents, the  floating  debris  of  the  deep,  and  the 
flight  of  birds,  they  were  enabled  to  make  their 
long,  dubious  voyages  with  comparative  surety. 
Beside  the  large  double  canoes  described,  they 
had  great  barges,  with  plank  bottoms  and  sides 
corded  and  calked  upon  stout  frames,  decked  over, 
and  carrying  a  good  spread  of  sail. 

The  social  and  civil  condition  of  the  ancient 
Hawaiians  smacked  more  of  despotism  than  that 
of  any  other  Polynesian  race.  The  inhabitants 
were  divided  into  three  classes :  the  nobility,  con- 
sisting of  the  kings  and  chiefs  of  different  ranks  ; 


30  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

the  priests  (kahunas),  including  also  sorcerers  and 
doctors ;  the  common  people  (Makaainana),  or 
labourers.  Between  the  first  and  last  existed  a 
wide  gap,  which  was  of  a  sacred  and  religious  char- 
acter. The  chiefs  claimed  descent  from  the  gods, 
and  were  allied  with  invisible  powers.  In  support 
of  this  they  compared  their  stature  and  physique 
with  the  common  people,  which  was  striking  proof 
of  what  they  said.  As  late  as  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries  Hawaii  boasted  of  such  kings 
as  Kiha,  Liloa,  Umi,  and  Lono,  each  eight  or  nine 
feet  in  height,  and  correspondingly  broad  of  shoul- 
der and  girth.  Beyond  these  rises  the  gigantic 
figure  of  Kana,  the  son  of  Hina,  whose  height  was 
measured  by  paces. 

The  chiefs  were  the  sole  owners  of  the  soil,  and 
considered  not  only  that  the  land  was  theirs,  but 
all  which  grew  upon  it,  the  fish  swimming  in 
the  sea,  the  time  and  the  production  of  those 
under  them.  This  was  according  to  the  belief 
that  the  king,  of  superior  birth,  naturally  owned 
everything.  He  allowed  certain  portions  to  be 
held  by  his  chiefs  in  trust,  on  the  condition  that 
they  render  him  tribute  and  military  support. 
Then  these  chiefs  in  turn  divided  their  territory 
among  under-chiefs,  who  in  a  smaller  way  paid  a 


HAWAIIAN    CHIEF    WITH    FEATHER    HELMET. 


A  PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE.  31 

like  return  to  them  that  they  gave  the  king. 
These  divisions  and  sub-divisions  never  reached 
to  the  toiler,  the  slaves  of  the  soil,  who  did  the 
brunt  of  the  work,  and  must  feel  amply  rewarded 
if  privileged  to  live  as  poor  tenants. 

The  head  chief  of  an  island  was  styled  moi,  and 
his  prestige  and  power  were  usually  inherited.  Of 
so  much  importance  was  he,  that  when  he  went 
abroad  he  was  attended  by  a  body-guard,  the  fore- 
most of  which  bore  plumed  staffs  of  bright  colours. 
Did  he  go  by  canoe,  his  sails  were  painted  red, 
and  he  was  the  only  person  who  could  wear  the 
feather  cloak  and  helmet.  The  common  people 
were  expected  to  prostrate  themselves  on  the  ground 
as  he  and  his  retinue  passed.  It  was  the  signing 
of  his  death-warrant  for  a  common  person  to  re- 
main standing  at  the  mention  of  the  king's  name, 
at  the  mere  taking  past  him  of  the  monarch's  food, 
water,  or  raiment ;  to  put  on  any  article  of  dress 
belonging  to  him,  to  enter  his  presence  without 
permission,  to  cross  his  shadow  or  even  that  of  his 
dwelling.  If  a  man  dared  to  enter,  after  due 
consent  from  his  sovereign,  the  latter' s  abode,  he 
must  crawl  flat  upon  the  ground,  and  depart  in 
the  same  humble  manner. 

Lacking  metals  of  all  kinds,  the  early  Hawaiians 


32  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

made  their  implements  of  war  or  industry  from 
wood,  bone,  or  stone,  —  axes,  adzes,  hammers  of 
stone,  spades  of  wood,  knives  of  flint  and  ivory. 
Needles  were  made  of  thorns  or  bones,  and  spears 
and  daggers  of  hardened  wood.  With  such  tools 
as  these  they  felled  trees,  from  which  they  built 
their  temples,  canoes  and  barges,  dwellings,  manu- 
factured cloth  and  cordage,  made  walls  of  hewn 
stone,  built  roads  and  fish-ponds,  and  tilled  the 
soil.  They  wove  mats,  cloths,  sails,  and  from 
the  inner  bark  of  the  paper  mulberry  beat  out  a 
thin  cloth  called  kapa,  which  they  sometimes 
ornamented  with  figures  and  made  in  different 
colours. 

They  ate  the  flesh  of  nearly  everything  living 
in  the  sea,  as  well  as  that  of  swine,  dogs,  and 
fowls,  yams,  sweet  potatoes,  fruits,  berries,  and 
several  kinds  of  seaweed,  besides  the  staple  of 
their  foods,  poi,  a  sort  of  fermented  paste  made 
from  taro,  a  bulbous  root  very  similar  to  an  Indian 
turnip.  They  drank  an  intoxicating  beverage 
made  from  the  sweet  root  of  the  ti  plant,  and  a 
stupefying  liquor  from  the  awa  root.  They  did 
their  cooking  by  wrapping  their  food  in  ti  leaves 
and  placing  it  in  an  underground  oven.  Their 
household  utensils  consisted  of  shells,  gourds, 


A  PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE.  33 

calabashes  of  different  sizes  and  shapes,  and 
platters  made  of  wood.  They  lighted  their  homes 
with  the  oily  nuts  of  the  ku-kui,  or  candlenut-tree. 

The  dress  of  the  Hawaiian  consisted  simply  of 
a  narrow  maro  fastened  around  the  loins  for  the 
male,  a  pan  or  skirt  reaching  from  the  waist  to 
the  knees  for  the  female.  These  skirts  were  inva- 
riably made  of  five  thicknesses  of  kapa,  and  when 
the  weather  was  cool  a  short  cape  was  thrown  over 
the  shoulders.  Generally  the  heads  of  both  sexes 
were  uncovered. 

Besides  the  maro  the  king  wore  on  state  occa- 
sions the  royal  mantle,  the  mamo,  so  called  for 
the  little  sea-bird  that  furnished  the  feathers  to 
make  it.  This  mantle  reached  from  the  neck  to 
the  ankle,  and  it  took  over  ten  thousand  feathers 
to  make  it.  As  each  bird  had  but  two  of  the 
kind  of  feathers  desired,  one  under  either  wing,  it 
took  at  least  five  thousand  of  them  to  afford  the 
material  for  this  costly  garment. 

The  chiefs  wore  short  capes  of  yellow  feathers 
mixed  with  red.  The  colour  of  the  priests  and 
gods  was  red.  The  nobility  had  feather  head- 
dresses, and  charms  of  bones  suspended  from  the 
neck.  Some  of  them  tattooed  their  faces,  breast, 
and  thighs,  while  flowers  were  the  universal  orna- 


34  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

merit.  At  festivals,  feasts,  and  other  gatherings, 
all  wore  garlands  of  beautiful  and  fragrant  leaves, 
crowns  of  flowers  resting  on  the  head,  and  wreaths 
encircling  the  neck.  This  beautiful  custom  still 
prevails. 

The  dwellings  of  the  common  people  were  con- 
structed of  upright  posts  planted  in  the  ground, 
with  cross  beams  and  rafters,  roof  and  sides  con- 
structed of  twigs  woven  together  and  filled  in  with 
a  thatch  of  leaves. 

The  houses  of  the  nobility  were  larger,  stronger, 
and  frequently  surrounded  by  wide  verandas.  These 
buildings  were  built  so  the  main  entrance  faced 
the  east,  the  home  of  Kane,  the  supreme  god. 
These  homes  consisted  of  six  separate  dwellings 
or  apartments ;  first,  the  heiau,  or  idol  house ; 
second,  the  mau,  or  eating-house  of  the  males,  from 
which  the  females  were  prohibited  from  entering ; 
third,  the  hale-noa,  or  the  house  of  the  women, 
which  men  could  not  enter ;  fourth,  the  liale-aina, 
or  eating-house  of  the  wife  ;  fifth,  the  kua,  or  wife's 
working-house ;  sixth,  the  hale-pea,  or  nursery  of 
the  wife.  The  poorer  classes  followed  as  near  as 
possible  this  plan,  though  they  had  often  to  use 
screens  for  partitions. 

The   Hawaiians  enjoyed  athletic  sports  of   all 


A  PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE.  35 

kinds,  running,  boxing,  jumping,  wrestling,  swim- 
ming, diving,  and  other  games,  but  the  two  pas- 
times which  delighted  them  most  were  holua  and 
surf-riding.  The  former  consisted  of  coasting  on 
long,  narrow  sledges  down  steep  descents,  with 
the  rider  lying  prone  and  borne  on  with  the  veloc- 
ity of  the  wind.  He  who  reached  the  foot  first 
was  the  victor.  These  sportsmen  did  not  require 
a  snow  path  over  which  to  fly  on  their  strange 
sleds,  but  found  the  best  race-courses  over  slopes 
covered  with  dried  grass  or  over  lava-floored  tracks. 
The  goddess  of  the  volcano,  Pele,  was  supposed 
to  delight  in  these  contests,  coming  disguised  in 
some  earthly  form.  As  may  be  imagined,  she 
always  became  a  dangerous  rival.  Kahavari,  a 
Hawaiian  prince,  once  raced  with  her  when  she 
was  impersonating  a  beautiful  young  woman.  On 
the  first  trip  he  outdistanced  her,  and  when  she 
asked  for  a  second  trial,  claiming  that  her  papa 
(sled)  was  inferior  to  his,  he  laughed  at  her  and 
started  alone  down  the  descent.  Hearing  wild 
shouts  and  great  confusion,  he  saw  that  she  was 
pursuing  him,  riding  on  the  crest  of  a  lava  wave. 
In  his  desperation  he  fled  for  the  sea,  where  she 
could  not  follow  him.  But  she  threw  stones  after 
him,  making  the  water  so  hot  he  perished.  To 


36  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

him  who  doubts  this  tale  the  stones  are  pointed  out 
on  the  beach,  and  the  track  of  the  lava  stream 
is  shown. 

Their  musical  instruments  were  the  pahus,  or 
drums  of  different  sizes,  the  ohe,  or  bamboo  flute, 
the  hokio,  or  rude  clarionet,  and  a  few  ruder  instru- 
ments than  even  these.  They  had  several  dances, 
of  which  the  hula,  participated  in  by  males  and 
females,  was  the  most  popular. 

In  their  mourning  customs  the  Hawaiians  showed 
their  wildest  nature,  often  resorting  to  the  most 
extravagant  performances,  excusing  all  by  saying 
that  grief  had  so  unseated  their  reason  as  to  make 
them  not  responsible.  The  masses  buried  their 
dead  in  caves,  but  the  bones  of  the  kings  were 
disposed  of  with  the  utmost  care.  There  were 
royal  burial-places  at  Honaunau,  and  on  Maui  at 
lao  valley;  but  not  always  did  the  remains  of 
the  kings  receive  sepulture  at  those  places.  On 
account  of  the  fear  that  some  one  would  make 
fish-hooks  or  other  instruments  out  of  them,  for 
the  charm  they  were  supposed  to  give,  all  sorts 
of  expedients  were  resorted  to  by  faithful  friends 
to  conceal  the  bones. 

The  year  was  divided  into  twelve  months  of 
thirty  days  each.  The  days  were  named  instead 


A   PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE.  37 

of  being  numbered.  As  their  division  gave  but 
three  hundred  and  sixty  days  to  the  year,  they 
consecrated  to  Lono,  the  god  of  the  elements,  the 
balance,  so  as  to  complete  the  sidereal  year  regu- 
lated by  the  Pleiades.  The  new  year  began  with 
the  winter  solstice.  They  had  the  lunar  month 
by  which  they  regulated  their  feasts.  The  sea- 
sons were  two,  wet  and  dry.  In  counting  they 
calculated  by  four  and  its  multiples. 

They  had  no  written  language,  and  their  oral 
speech  contained  the  sounds  of  but  twelve  letters, 
five  vowels  and  seven  consonants,  as  follows :  a,  e, 
i,  o,  u,  and  h,  k,  1,  m,  n,  p,  w.  To  these  r,  t,  and 
b  are  sometimes  added  by  writers,  but  the  r  takes 
the  sound  of  1,  the  t  of  k,  and  b  of  p.  A  is  pro- 
nounced usually  as  in  father ;  e  as  in  they ;  i  as  in 
marme  ;  o  as  in  mole ;  u  as  in  nmte.  W  usually 
has  the  sound  of  v.  The  only  exception  to  these 
rules  is  when  the  vowel  has  the  long  or  short  sound. 
Every  syllable  and  every  word  in  the  language 
ends  with  a  vowel,  and  two  consonants  never  come 
together.  The  penultimate,  or  next  to  last  syllable 
of  a  word,  almost  invariably  receives  the  accent. 
The  plural  takes  the  prefix  of  na.  In  Hawaiian 
conversation  words  fall  from  the  tongue  with  the 
musical  rhythm  of  a  brook  gliding  over  a  pebbly 


38  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

bottom,  a  consonant  thrown  in  now  and  then  as 
rocks  are  found  in  the  stream,  not  to  check  the 
current,  but  to  break  the  monotony  of  its  flow. 

In  order  to  maintain  the  distinction  between 
the  classes,  the  nobility  had  a  language  of  its 
own,  which  was  not  understood  by  the  common 
people.  This  was  changed  from  time  to  time  that 
it  might  not  be  learned  by  any  one  outside  of  the 
favoured  circle. 

If  barbarians,  the  Hawaiians  were  never  canni- 
bals. They  sacrificed  their  prisoners  of  war  on 
the  altars  of  their  gods  that  they  might  gain 
further  victories  under  arms,  and  bathed  those 
same  graven  images  in  the  blood  of  their  kindred 
to  appease  the  imaginary  wrath  of  their  over-rulers. 
In  this  respect  they  did  not  differ  from  the  ancient 
Gauls  and  Saxons  whose  temples  were  crimsoned 
with  the  blood  of  human  beings,  while  a  father 
of  Israel  sharpened  his  knife  to  slay  his  son  that 
his  body  might  be  made  an  offering  to  the  offended 
God  of  Abraham. 

Marriage  was  forbidden  only  between  mother 
and  son,  and  yet  the  kingly  line  boasted  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  manhood  and  womanhood. 
The  people  were  in  physical  bondage  to  the  king 
and  in  mental  slavery  to  the  priesthood,  and  yet 


A   PICTURESQUE  PEOPLE.  39 

they  were  a  merry,  easy-going,  brave,  and  unselfish 
race  of  men  and  women.  Their  kings  were  ever 
at  war,  and  yet  no  fear  of  a  foreign  invasion 
reached  their  hearts.  Surrounded  by  the  eight 
Hawaiian  seas  they  were  a  little  world  by  them- 
selves, their  lives  filled  with  deeds  of  knightly 
chivalry,  incidents  of  love  and  romantic  devotion 
unto  death,  and  examples  of  unfaltering  patriot- 
ism and  self-sacrifice.  If  an  impassable  gulf 
frowned  between  the  rulers  and  their  subjects, 
each  party  went  its  way  careless  and  contented. 
Following  the  second  period  of  invasion  the 
Hawaiians  enjoyed  a  long  spell  of  peace  and  iso- 
lation, six  hundred  years  of  non-intercourse  with 
the  outside  world,  when  in  1778  Captain  Cook 
led  the  way  for  further  conquest,  such  as  ancient 
history  had  not  told. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    NAPOLEON    OF    THE    PACIFIC. 

"DILI'S  lineal  descendant  Kalaniopuu  was  king 
of  Hawaii  at  the  time  of  Captain  Cook's 
visit.  He  also  held  sway  over  part  of  Maui. 
Kahekili,  "  the  Thunderer/'  a  brother  to  the  wife 
of  Kalaniopuu,  was  moi  of  the  greater  part  of 
Maui.  His  cousin,  Kahahana,  was  king  of  Oahu, 
Molokai,  and  Lanai.  Kauai  and  Niihau  were  ruled 
by  a  queen  related  to  the  royal  family  of  Hawaii, 
and  whose  husband  was  a  younger  brother  to  the 
king  of  Maui.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  rulers 
of  the  different  islands  were  connected  by  ties  of 
blood,  though  little  love  was  lost  on  this  account, 
when  the  frequent  wars  brought  the  bitterness  of 
strife. 

At  that  time  Kahekili  was  arming  to  overpower 
Kahahana  of  Oahu,  expecting  to  be  assisted  by 
Kauai's  queen.  Captain  Cook  found  Kalaniopuu 
away  fighting  this  same  Thunderer,  to  avenge  the 

40 


THE  NAPOLEON  OF  THE  PACIFIC.  41 

death  of  his  eight  hundred  nobles,  the  flower  of 
his  army,  who  had  been  hewn  down  like  playthings 
at  Hana  the  year  before  by  Kahekili's  doughty 
warriors. 

There  was  then  in  the  court  of  Kalaniopuu  a 
silent,  taciturn  man  of  forty,  who  was  destined  to 
end  all  these  petty  strifes  in  a  Napoleonic  con- 
quest of  the  islands.  He  was  of  stalwart  frame, 
and  his  courage  and  prowess  were  well  known, 
though  none  dreamed  of  his  skill  and  ambition  as 
a  warrior.  Born  at  Halawa,  in  the  Kohala  dis- 
trict, during  a  turbulent  period,  when  all  the  forces 
of  Hawaii  were  mustering  for  an  invasion  of  Maui, 
he  was  the  accepted  son  of  the  king's  half-brother, 
Keoua,  though  some  believed  he  was  the  son  of 
Kahekili,  the  Thunderer.  However  that  might 
be,  he  was  of  royal  blood,  and  what  was  of  more 
importance  still,  possessed  the  indomitable,  far- 
seeing  spirit  of  Kamehameha  the  Conqueror. 
This  Kamehameha  took  an  active  part  in  the  fight 
which  resulted  in  the  death  of  Captain  Cook,  and 
more  than  any  other  person  remarked  the  great 
superiority  of  the  weapons  of  the  whites  over 
those  of  his  countrymen.  After  this  unfortunate 
scene  he  retired  to  his  estate  in  Kohala,  and  was 
quietly  building  canoes  and  looking  after  his 


42  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

patrimony  when  the  aged  king  died  in  1782. 
Kiwalao,  the  moi's  oldest  son,  now  succeeded  to 
the  kingship,  with  Kamehameha  second  in  power. 

Usually  the  death  of  a  king  was  followed  by  a 
civil  war,  and  this  case  was  no  exception  to  the 
rule.  Four  chiefs  of  Kona  joined  issue  under 
Kamehameha,  and  a  fierce  battle  ensued  just 
south  of  Kealakekua  Bay,  when  Kiwalao  was 
killed  and  his  victor  became  ruler  over  Kona  and 
Kohala.  The  rest  of  the  island  was  divided  among 
a  brother  and  uncle  of  Kiwalao  and  Kahekili  and 
his  brother  Kaeo. 

An  intense  and  prolonged  warfare  between  the 
rival  powers  followed,  during  which  Kamehameha 
acted  a  stirring  part  in  assailing  West  Maui,  while 
Kahekili  and  his  brother  Kaeo  attacked  the  district 
of  Hilo.  No  faction  gained  any  decisive  victory. 
During  a  lull  in  this  savage  contention,  in  1786, 
American  and  European  ships  on  their  way  to 
Canton  began  to  stop  here  for  supplies,  or,  engaged 
in  the  fur  trade  on  the  northwest  coast  of  Amer- 
ica, ran  down  here  to  spend  the  winter,  Waimea, 
on  the  island  of  Kauai,  and  Kealakekua  Bay  being 
the  harbours  most  frequented  by  them. 

Some  of  the  native  chiefs  were  inclined  to  look 
with  suspicion  upon  these  visitors,  and,  though  a 


THE  NAPOLEON  OF  THE  PACIFIC.  43 

brisk  trade  soon  sprung  up,  to  treat  them  treacher- 
ously. Kamehameha  showed  a  more  far-seeing 
policy  by  treating  with  the  strangers  fairly,  trying 
to  gain  their  confidence  by  offering  them  every 
hospitality  at  his  disposal  and  even  defending 
them  against  the  faithless  treatment  of  the  other 
chiefs.  In  this  way  he  secured  the  better  part  of 
the  trade,  and  came  into  possession  of  firearms, 
powder,  and  shot,  the  articles  most  in  demand  by 
the  natives. 

In  1789  a  treacherous  act  of  his  enemies  was 
the  cause  of  giving  to  Kamehameha  just  such  aid 
and  counsel  as  he  needed  in  the  coming  conquest. 
In  February,  1790,  an  American  fur-trader  named 
Metcalf,  on  his  way  to  China,  with  two  vessels, 
the  Eleanor  and  Fair  American,  the  latter  com- 
manded by  his  son,  a  youth  of  twenty,  anchored 
off  Honolaula,  Maui.  That  night,  after  killing 
its  occupant,  some  of  the  natives  stole  a  boat  and 
stove  it  to  pieces  to  get  its  nails. 

The  following  morning,  learning  that  the 
offenders  had  gone  to  Olowalu,  Captain  Metcalf 
proceeded  thither.  Arriving  there  during  a  re- 
ligious festival,  he  waited  until  it  was  over,  and 
then,  making  no  mention  of  the  wrong  which  had 
been  done  him,  opened  trade  with  the  Hawaiians. 


44  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

This  called  a  great  number  of  canoes  about  the 
vessel,  when  he  ordered  a  broadside  of  shot  to  be 
poured  upon  the  unsuspecting  crowd.  The  water 
was  strewn  with  the  bodies  of  the  dead  and 
wounded  natives  and  the  ruins  of  their  canoes. 
Immediately  after  doing  this,  Captain  Metcalf  ran 
down  to  the  Hawaiian  coast,  lying  off  Kealakekua 
Bay  for  the  coming  of  the  Fair  American. 

Meanwhile  a  fleet  of  canoes  had  gone  out  to 
the  other  ship,  and  under  pretence  of  trade  gained 
the  deck.  The  boy  captain,  taken  off  his  guard, 
was  killed,  and  the  slaughter  of  his  crew  quickly 
followed,  the  mate,  Isaac  Davis,  being  alone  spared. 
The  vessel  was  then  ransacked,  and  taking  every- 
thing that  pleased  them,  with  Davis  a  captive,  the 
natives  retreated  from  that  vicinity. 

On  March  17th,  while  waiting  in  the  hope  of 
finding  his  son  or  some  of  the  crew,  his  boatswain, 
John  Young,  while  on  shore  was  captured  and 
carried  off  by  the  natives.  Giving  up  all  hopes 
of  finding  the  lost  ones,  and  believing  Young  to 
have  been  killed,  Captain  Metcalf  went  on  his  way. 
Kamehameha  soon  obtained  possession  of  the 
muskets,  cannon,  and  ammunition  taken  from  the 
Fair  American,  and  the  prisoners  fell  into  his 
hands.  In  the  two  American  sailors,  if  he  could 


THE  NAPOLEON   OF  THE  PACIFIC.  45 

induce  them  to  enter  his  service,  he  foresaw 
valuable  assistants  in  the  work  he  had  ahead,  and 
he  treated  them  with  kindness  and  respect. 

Realising  that  they  had  little  hope  of  being  found 
and  rescued  by  their  countrymen,  and  being  of 
adventurous,  ambitious  natures,  they  soon  yielded 
to  his  overtures,  to  become  his  most  able  advisers 
and  supporters  in  the  long  and  arduous  war  to 
follow.  They  were  in  fact,  as  another  has  well 
put  it,  the  marshals  of  the  Hawaiian  Napoleon, 
his  Ney  and  MacDonald.  Thus  the  affair  con- 
nected with  the  two  American  ships,  as  question- 
able as  it  was  on  both  sides,  marked  the  beginning 
of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  Hawaii. 

Kamehameha  lost  no  more  time  in  resuming 
his  war  with  the  powers  of  Maui,  and  that  year, 
1790,  he  defeated  its  defenders  with  terrible  slaugh- 
ter in  the  lao  valley,  where  it  was  said  the  dead 
fell  so  fast  and  thick  that  the  waters  of  the  Wai- 
luku  were  dammed  by  the  bodies.  In  his  triumph 
here  he  was  planning  to  overrun  Molokai,  when 
word  came  that  affairs  at  home  were  getting  into 
bad  shape.  The  brother  of  his  enemy  defeated 
here  had  captured  Hilo  and  was  sweeping  away 
everything  before  him. 

Returning  at  once  to  Hawaii,  he  made  short,  if 


46  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

bloody,  work  in  routing  this  foe ;  but  while  he 
was  doing  it,  the  Thunderer  and  his  followers 
rallied  to  regain  possession  of  Maui.  The  next 
move  in  this  bloody  game  of  conquest  was  a  sea- 
fight  between  Kamehameha  and  his  united  enemies 
of  Hawaii.  This  was  fought  off  Waimanu,  and 
owing  to  the  superiority  of  his  arms  Kamehameha 
won  a  decided  victory.  He  followed  this  up  by 
the  most  disreputable  act  of  his  long  and  eventful 
life.  Sending  to  Keoua  to  meet  him  in  friendly 
conference  at  Kawaihae,  he  then  caused  him 
and  his  attendants  to  be  massacred  as  they  were 
trying  to  effect  a  landing.  Thereupon  Kameha- 
meha proclaimed  himself  king  of  all  Hawaii,  and 
there  was  none  to  dispute  his  title.  No  doubt 
his  enemy  would  have  resorted  to  the  same  methods 
had  he  been  able  to  make  them  successful,  but  it 
seems  none  the  less  a  pity  that  a  record  other- 
wise remarkably  bright  for  a  heathen  should  have 
been  stained  with  a  deed  like  this.  This  was  in 
1791,  and  he  celebrated  his  triumph  by  building 
that  year  a  new  heiau  at  Puukohola,  offering  the 
bodies  of  his  captives  as  sacrifices  to  his  favourite 
war-god. 

The  following  year  Hawaii  was  visited  by  Capt. 
George  Vancouver,  who  had   been  with   Captain 


THE  NAPOLEON  OF  THE  PACIFIC.  47 

Cook  on  his  second  and  third  voyages.  Kame- 
hameha  now  learned  much  more  than  his  Ameri- 
can counsellors  had  told  him  of  the  power  and 
grandeur  of  the  Christian  nations,  while  he  listened 
with  wonder  and  interest  to  the  other's  teaching 
of  justice  and  humanity  and  his  description  of 
the  Christian's  faith  in  God.  Captain  Vancouver 
visited  the  island  three  times  during  1792-94, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  his  teachings  made  a  deep 
and  abiding  impression  upon  the  Hawaiian  king, 
who,  if  he  still  clung  to  his  idols  and  pagan  rites, 
showed  afterward  a  milder  spirit  in  all  that  he  did. 

Captain  Vancouver  presented  him  with  cattle 
and  sheep  and  many  useful  plants,  but  refused  to 
let  him  have  powder  and  firearms.  So  favourable 
an  impression  was  made  by  this  humane  navigator 
that  February  25,  1794,  Kamehameha  and  his 
chiefs  voluntarily  placed  Hawaii  under  the  protec- 
torate of  Great  Britain,  and  the  British  flag  was 
raised  on  the  shore  of  Kealakekua. 

This  act,  however,  did  not  mean  that  his  spirit 
of  conquest  was  subdued  or  that  his  wars  were 
over,  for  inside  of  a  year  we  find  him  mustering 
the  greatest  army  the  island  ever  knew.  His  old 
enemy  Kahekili,  king  of  the  leeward  islands,  worn 
out  with  his  fighting  as  much  as  his  years,  left 


48  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

his  kingdom  to  be  divided  between  his  son,  Kala- 
nikupule,  ruler  of  Oahu,  and  his  brother,  Kaeo, 
moi  of  Maui.  This  twain  straightway  went  to 
fighting  over  their  respective  domains.  By  the 
aid  of  a  couple  of  English  traders,  Captains  Brown 
and  Gordon,  then  visiting  at  Honolulu,  Kalani  of 
Oahu  defeated  his  rival  and  put  him  to  death. 
Immediately  he  began  to  grow  jealous  of  his  allies, 
and  having  an  ambition  of  his  own  to  rule  over 
all  of  the  islands,  he  planned  to  kill  them  and 
then,  with  the  ships  and  a  fleet  of  war  canoes,  sail 
to  Hawaii  to  attack  Kamehameha.  He  managed 
to  murder  the  captains,  but  in  such  a  bungling 
manner  that  the  sailors  escaped  with  the  vessels, 
going  to  Hawaii  direct,  when  they  turned  them 
over  to  Kamehameha  with  all  their  arms  and 
ammunition. 

This  was  the  conqueror's  opportunity,  and, 
assisted  by  his  marshals,  he  mustered  over  six- 
teen thousand  warriors,  and  with  the  best  equipped, 
as  well  as  the  largest  army  Hawaii  had  known, 
in  the  spring  of  1795  set  sail  with  his  immense 
fleet  of  canoes  for  Maui.  This  island  was  given 
over  to  him  without  a  battle,  and  then  he  cap- 
tured Molokai  in  the  same  easy  manner. 

By  this  time  Kalanikupule  had  rallied  his  forces, 


THE  NAPOLEON  OF  THE  PACIFIC.  49 

ten  thousand  strong,  and  prepared  to  make  a 
desperate  stand  in  the  Nuuanu  Valley,  near  where 
the  ice- works  are  now  located.  Kamehameha 
reached  Waialae  Bay  the  last  of  April,  where  he 
learned  that  one  of  his  trusted  chiefs,  who  had 
agreed  to  meet  him  there,  had  deserted  him,  and 
with  all  of  his  followers  joined  the  enemy. 

Nothing  daunted  by  this,  Kamehameha  lost  no 
further  time  in  marching  against  his  foes,  when 
the  two  armies  met  in  that  deadly  grapple  which 
was  not  only  to  decide  the  fates  of  kings  but 
the  whole  future  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  The 
Oahuans  proved  themselves  true  to  their  reputa- 
tion as  fighters,  and  there,  with  the  cloud-swept 
cliffs  behind,  the  home-land  of  Kaulau  below 
them,  with  the  blue  sea  shimmering  through  the 
cocoanuts,  and  in  plain  sight  of  the  thatched  roofs 
of  their  grass  houses,  they  gave  their  lives  in 
heroic  contest  for  the  lost  cause.  Slowly  pressed 
back  toward  the  pali  until  on  its  brink,  the  sur- 
vivors, rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  their 
enemies,  hurled  themselves  over  the  precipice  upon 
the  jagged  rocks  hundreds  of  feet  below. 

Again  Kamehameha  had  proved  himself  the 
conqueror,  and  by  this  victory  all  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  except  Kauai  and  Niihau,  passed  under 


50  THE  PARADISE  OF   THE  PACIFIC. 

his  sovereignty.  Kaiana,  the  traitor,  had  met 
death  from  a  cannon-ball,  and  Kalanikupule,  find- 
ing his  warriors  completely  routed,  tried  to  escape 
by  flight;  but  he  was  pursued,  overtaken,  and 
captured,  to  be  held  as  a  sacrifice  at  the  heiau 
at  Moanalua. 

According  to  custom  the  great  victory  must  be 
celebrated  with  adequate  ceremonies,  and  the  grand- 
est hookupu  (festival  during  which  the  people  made 
presents  to  the  king)  ever  witnessed  in  Oahu  fol- 
lowed. Finding  that  it  was  policy  to  treat  their 
new  king  with  as  good  grace  as  possible,  the  Oahu- 
ans  became  extremely  liberal,  until  the  offerings 
reached  an  amount  and  variety  which  astonished 
every  one,  even  to  Kamehameha.  But  the  high- 
est gift  was  reserved  for  the  last.  In  the  midst 
of  the  bustle  and  confusion,  an  old  man,  who 
had  been  among  the  most  active  and  bitter  of 
the  island  defenders,  was  seen  approaching  the 
altar,  or  grand  stand,  leading  by  the  hand 
a  beautiful  girl,  an  ehu  (Hawaiian  blonde),  as  a 
gift  to  his  new  king.  Not  over  sixteen  years  of 
age,  of  fair  skin,  expressive,  hazel-brown  eyes, 
tall,  perfectly  molded  figure,  and  abundant  tresses 
of  a  glimmering  brown  mixed  with  threads  of  gold 
falling  like  a  gauze  veil  down  the  well-rounded 


THE  NAPOLEON   OF  THE  PACIFIC.  51 

shoulders,  she  was  of  that  matchless  type  of  beauty 
rarely  found  even  when  the  best  blood  of  two  races 
blends.  A  skirt  of  yellow  kapa,  embroidered  in 
dark  designs  of  many  birds,  and  rustling  like  folds 
of  silk,  fell  from  her  slender  waist  to  her  knees, 
while  her  head  was  wreathed  in  yellow  oo  feath- 
ers, and  shell  bracelets  encircled  her  small  wrists. 
Suspended  from  her  neck,  by  its  three  hundred 
braids  of  human  hair,  was  the  sacred  Niho  Palaoa, 
the  royal  insignia  of  the  gods.  Surely  never 
fairer  bid  for  kingly  favour  was  made  than  this 
of  old  Kavari,  who  hoped  to  propitiate  his  new 
sovereign  and  thus  win  back  the  fortune  he  had 
lost  by  opposing  the  iron  Conqueror. 

Frightened  by  the  sight  of  so  many  intent  spec- 
tators, and  realising  more  than  ever  her  strange 
position,  the  maid  stood  before  the  king  with 
downcast  eyes,  wet  with  tears,  and  bosom  rising 
and  falling  tumultuously  under  her  great  emotion. 

Kamehameha  the  Great  smiled,  and  he  was 
about  to  address  the  aged  chief  who  came  with 
this  human  gift,  when  there  was  a  commotion  in 
the  ranks  of  his  soldiers,  and  a  young  warrior,  who 
had  covered  himself  with  glory  in  the  battle  that 
day,  sprang  forward  to  place  himself  in  front  of 
the  trembling  damsel. 


52  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

A  low  murmur  of  horror  came  from  the  watch- 
ful crowd  as  the. daring  act  was  witnessed,  for  all 
knew  it  was  death  to  interfere  with  the  royal 
will.  The  dark  countenance  of  the  king  grew 
black,  and  his  eyes  flashed  furiously ;  but  instead 
of  ordering  the  young  man  to  be  put  to  death, 
as  the  onlookers  expected,  he  demanded  of  him : 

"What  means  this  interference,  rash  youth? 
How  dare  you  meddle  with  the  sacred  rights  of 
the  king?" 

The  warrior  bowed  low,  but  did  not  offer  to  speak. 

"What  name,  sir?"  though  Kamehameha  well 
knew. 

"  Hakuole,  who  led  the  warriors  of  Kona  on 
the  right,  my  king." 

"  So  Hakuole,  the  dauntless,  is  tired  of  being 
a  soldier,  and  prefers  the  company  of  women  to 
that  of  his  comrades  in  arms?" 

At  this  humiliating  question  Hakuole  bowed 
lower,  and  wisely  held  his  peace,  while  the  king 
ordered  the  girl  to  be  led  forward. 

"  Knowest  this  foolhardy  young  man,  who 
chooses  the  companionship  of  women  to  that  of 
warriors  ? "  he  asked  of  her,  who  now  stood 
bravely  up  before  him. 

"I   wore   his  wreath   at   the   last   hula   dance 


THE  NAPOLEON  OF  THE  PACIFIC.  53 

before  the  battle,"  she  replied,  modestly,  "  though 
father  would  not  remember  this." 

Then  it  must  have  flashed  through  the  mind 
of  the  astute  king  that  behind  this  bold  tableau 
was  a  love  act,  and  those  nearest  imagined  they 
detected  a  smile  under  the  grim  exterior  of  the 
Conqueror.  But  he  spoke  as  sternly  as  ever,  when 
he  next  said : 

"  Hakuole,  I  command  you  to  listen.  To-day 
you  have  done  that  which  you  knew  would  bring 
you  the  punishment  of  a  displeased  king.  You 
have  shown  yourself  a  brave  officer,  now  listen 
to  my  decree.  You  are  suspended  from  your  offi- 
cial rank  for  thirteen  moons.  Go  with  this  girl 
to  her  father's  estate,  which  I  now  bestow  upon 
her  children.  Away  with  you,  and  forget  not  the 
judgment  of  Kamehameha." 

Covered  with  confusion  at  this  happy  and  un- 
expected termination  of  the  affair,  the  lovers 
beat  a  retreat,  amid  the  cheers  of  their  friends, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  they  lived  to  bless  the 
name  of  Kamehameha,  whose  true  character  is 
best  illustrated  in  the  little  incidents  of  his 
long  and  checkered  career.  Of  course  the  hoo- 
kupu  was  a  great  success,  and  the  king  soon  won 
the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  new  subjects. 


54  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

After  spending  a  year  in  reorganising  and 
strengthening  his  army,  he  set  out  to  conquer 
Kauai,  but  the  elements  this  time  interfered  with 
his  plans,  and  losing  many  of  his  canoes  and  men 
in  a  violent  tempest  off  the  coast  of  the  Garden 
Isle,  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Oahu.  Then 
an  insurrection  on  Hawaii  next  took  his  attention, 
and  he  finished  his  wars  in  putting  that  down, 
though  he  still  dreamed  of  adding  Kauai  to  his 
kingdom. 

Kamehameha  now  turned  from  warlike  to  civil 
affairs,  beginning  to  make  many  radical  changes 
in  the  condition  and  government  of  the  islands. 
He  first  divided  the  lands  among  his  followers, 
after  reserving  a  generous  portion  for  himself, 
according  to  their  rank  and  service.  He  chose 
governors  for  each  island,  made  responsible  to  him, 
and  empowered  them  to  elect  chiefs  of  districts, 
heads  of  villages,  and  all  petty  officers,  who  were 
held  accountable  through  them  to  him.  He  ap- 
pointed collectors  of  revenue,  who,  lacking  the  art 
of  writing,  kept  their  accounts  by  a  method  used 
by  the  British  exchequer  in  ancient  times.  He 
had  his  board  of  advisers,  who,  with  the  gov- 
ernors, met  with  him  at  regular  dates,  the  meetings 
being  held  in  strict  privacy. 


THE  NAPOLEON  OF  THE  PACIFIC.  55 

John  Young  was  made  governor  of  Hawaii.  In 
all  of  his  selections  to  office  the  king  showed 
remarkable  judgment  of  men,  and  was  seldom, 
if  ever,  deceived.  So  thoroughly  did  he  master 
every  situation  and  enforce  the  honesty  of  his 
purpose,  that  crime  became  almost  unknown, 
and  it  was  a  common  saying  that  "old  men  and 
children  could  sleep  in  the  highways  in  safety." 
He  also  paid  considerable  attention  to  the  indus- 
trial and  agricultural  interests,  doing  much  in 
this  way  to  repair  the  ravages  of  his  wars. 

But  an  evil  had  entered  his  kingdom  against 
which  he  could  not  successfully  cope.  The  seeds 
of  disease  and  intemperance  sown  by  foreign- 
ers had  developed  into  a  foe  which  no  army 
could  withstand  or  people  combat.  In  1800  some 
Botany  Bay  convicts  introduced  the  method  of 
distilling  liquor,  and  drunkenness  at  once  became 
very  prevalent.  Four  years  later  a  pestilence, 
believed  to  have  been  the  cholera,  was  brought 
from  China,  and  half  the  population  of  Oahu 
fell  victims,  while  elsewhere  disease  and  death 
claimed  their  victims  in  overwhelming  numbers. 
Such  misery  and  death  as  the  common  people  had 
never  known  now  fell  to  their  unhappy  lot. 

At  this  time  Kamehameha  had  just  completed 


56  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

his  immense  fleet  of  war  canoes,  called  the  peleleu, 
built  for  the  purpose  of  invading  Kauai,  but  the 
terrible  disease  sweeping  over  the  islands  carried 
off  in  a  few  days  half  of  his  army  and  the  majority 
of  his  counsellors.  The  Kauai  expedition  had  to 
be  abandoned,  never  to  be  considered  again  by 
the  sobered  king,  who  told  his  remaining  soldiers 
to  go  into  the  fields  and  work.  He  joined  them 
for  a  time,  as  not  only  disease  but  famine  stared 
them  in  the  face. 

In  March,  1810,  Kaumualii,  the  last  king  of 
Kauai,  visited  Honolulu  in  the  American  ship 
Albatross,  Capt.  Nathan  Winship,  and  made  a 
voluntary  concession  of  his  islands  to  Kameha- 
meha,  who  very  considerately  allowed  him  to  hold 
them  in  fief  during  his  lifetime,  on  condition  of 
paying  tribute. 

About  this  time  and  continuing  during  the  first 
quarter  of  the  century,  the  sandalwood  trade 
with  foreign  markets  sprang  up.  At  Canton, 
China,  in  particular,  this  fragrant  wood  was  in 
great  demand  for  incense  and  the  manufacture 
of  fancy  articles.  While  the  wood  lasted  it  was 
a  source  of  vast  profit  to  the  landholders.  It 
was  soon  almost  entirely  removed,  so  it  is  very 
seldom  found  now. 


THE  NAPOLEON  OF  THE  PACIFIC.  57 

While  attending  to  the  many  details  of  his 
government  with  far-seeing  foresight,  he  neglected 
to  adopt  a  national  flag.  With  a  feeling  of  friend- 
liness toward  all  foreign  countries,  England  and 
the  United  States  in  particular,  he  thought  it 
sufficient  to  fly  the  flags  of  these  countries  as  it 
happened,  intending,  no  doubt,  to  be  fair  in  the 
matter.  All  went  well  in  this  way  until  the  War 
of  1812  had  been  in  progress  several  months. 
Then  a  Yankee  privateer,  putting  into  Honolulu, 
saw  with  amazement  the  British  flag  floating  in 
the  breeze.  He  demanded  an  explanation,  when 
the  king,  to  prove  his  friendliness,  caused  the 
stars  and  stripes  to  be  run  up  in  place  of  the  other 
flag.  This  satisfied  the  American,  but  in  a  short 
time  an  English  man-of-war  appeared  on  the  scene, 
and  again  the  king  was  taken  to  account. 

Kamehameha  was  now  sorely  puzzled,  and  he 
thought  of  flying  both  flags,  until  Young  and 
Davis  explained  to  him  that  two  flags  of  hostile 
countries  could  not  fly  from  the  same  staff.  He 
was  then  advised  to  have  a  flag  of  his  own,  and 
Young  suggested  that  a  compromise  be  made  by 
taking  the  stars  and  stripes  with  the  British  cross 
for  a  field.  The  next  day  the  new  flag  was  hoisted 
and  everybody  pleased. 


58  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

During  1815,  under  the  order  of  Baranoff,  the 
Russian  governor  of  Alaska,  Doctor  Scheffer  visited 
Kauai,  and  urged  its  aged  king  to  place  himself 
under  the  protection  of  Russia,  and  even  went 
so  far  as  to  build  a  fort  at  Waimea  and  hoist  the 
colours  of  the  empire  over  it.  Upon  learning  this, 
Kamehameha  sent  word  for  Doctor  Scheffer  to 
leave,  which  he  did,  and  the  Hawaiian  king  raised 
a  strong  fort  on  the  island  in  1816. 

This  year,  upon  the  advice  of  Young,  a  fort  of 
stone  and  embrasure  for  cannon,  with  walls  about 
twelve  feet  high  and  twenty  feet  thick,  was  built 
at  Honolulu.  It  was  nearly  square  and  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  on  a  side,  and  stood  across 
what  is  now  Fort  Street.  Prior  to  that  time  the 
place  had  been  but  a  fishing-village,  with  a  sandy, 
treeless  background  and  a  fringe  of  cocoanuts  on 
the  seashore.  In  November,  1820,  the  court  was 
moved  from  Hawaii  by  Kamehameha  II.,  and  it 
became  the  seat  of  government  for  the  island 
states. 

On  May  8,  1819,  at  the  ripe  age  of  fourscore 
years,  Kamehameha  died  at  Kailua,  Hawaii,  for- 
bidding in  his  last  illness  the  usual  sacrifice  of 
human  beings  at  his  funeral,  saying,  "  The  men 
should  be  sacred  to  the  king,"  meaning  his  son 


THE  NAPOLEON   OF  THE  PACIFIC.  59 

and  successor.  If  belonging  to  a  barbaric  race, 
he  was  no  ordinary  man.  A  shrewd,  sagacious 
organiser  and  commander  of  armed  forces,  he  was 
none  the  less  gifted  in  executive  ability,  and  he 
not  only  consolidated  the  islands  under  a  strong 
government,  but  he  fused  a  rabble  of  ignorant 
people  and  chieftaincies  into  a  united  kingdom, 
and  stimulated  among  his  subjects  a  patriotism 
which  is  felt  to  this  day  by  their  descendants. 

So  fearful  were  the  ancient  chiefs  of  Hawaii 
that  some  harm  might  be  done  their  bodies  after 
death,  —  that  their  bones  be  utilised  for  making 
fish-hooks  or  arrow  points  for  shooting  mice, — 
it  was  the  invariable  custom  for  the  most  faith- 
ful of  the  king's  survivors  to  bear  away  the 
remains  to  some  unknown  place  of  sepulture, 
some  dark  recess  in  the  volcanic  mountains,  or 
to  a  grave  in  the  sea.  Sometimes  the  ingenuity 
of  the  barbaric  undertaker  devised  strange  places 
or  methods  of  concealment.  Upon  the  death  of 
a  noted  king  of  Oahu,  some  two  hundred  years 
ago,  the  bones  were  stripped  of  the  flesh,  and  then 
entrusted  to  a  careful  friend  for  safe  interment. 
Instead  of  seeking  some  hidden  spot  in  the  moun- 
tains to  receive  them,  he  pulverised  the  bones  into 
a  fine  powder,  which  he  mixed  with  the  poi  to  be 


60  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

eaten  at  the  funeral  feast.  The  repast  over,  and 
asked  if  he  had  faithfully  done  his  work,  he  replied : 
"  Safe,  indeed,  are  the  bones  of  Kaulii.  They  are 
hidden  in  a  hundred  living  sepulchres ;  you  have 
eaten  them ! " 

Where  the  bones  of  Kamehameha  I.  rest  no 
man  knows.  A  chief,  by  the  name  of  Hoolulu, 
was  entrusted  with  the  sacred  charge,  and  it  is 
believed  he  secretly  bore  the  kingly  remains  to  a 
lonely  hiding-place  in  the  hills  back  of  Kailua. 
Two  men  met  him  upon  his  return,  and,  being 
asked  if  they  had  seen  any  one  going  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  hills  that  morning,  saved  their  lives 
by  answering  "  No."  Had  their  reply  been  differ- 
ent the  questioner  would  have  killed  them  on 
the  spot,  that  they  might  not  reveal  the  secret 
of  his  errand.  This  chief  left  children,  and  no 
doubt  he  entrusted  his  secret  with  one  of  them, 
according  to  custom ;  but  in  1853,  when  secrecy 
was  no  longer  necessary,  Kamehameha  III.  sought 
this  favoured  son  of  Hoolulu,  that  he  might  learn 
the  location  of  the  rude  sepulchre  of  his  illustrious 
ancestor.  But  he  could  not  persuade  the  other 
to  reveal  the  spot,  and  the  secret  died  with  him  a 
few  years  later. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ANCIENT   HAWAIIAN    RELIGION. 

A  CCOKDING  to  the  Hawaiian  mythology,  pre- 
^^^  served  by  the  priests,  who,  at  least  twice 
during  each  generation,  met  in  council  to  compare 
their  historic  and  genealogy  meles,  that  nothing 
might  be  lost  or  changed,  a  trinity  of  gods  ruled 
over  the  heavens  and  earth.  These  were  Kane, 
the  supreme  author,  Ku,  the  designer  and  builder, 
Lono,  commander  of  the  elements. 

Through  the  Hikapoloa,  or  united  effort  of 
the  trinity,  light  was  created  from  darkness,  and 
order  brought  out  of  chaos,  and  three  heavens 
were  created  for  the  dwelling-place.  This  done, 
they  made  the  earth,  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  A  host 
of  angels  to  administer  to  their  wants  was  then 
created  from  their  spittle.  Man  in  the  image  of 
Kane  was  next  made  from  red  earth  and  the  spittle 
of  Kane,  Lono  bringing  from  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe  a  whitish  clay  for  the  head.  From  one 
of  the  supreme  gods  was  created  woman. 

61 


62  THE  PARADISE   OF   THE  PACIFIC. 

The  pair  were  placed  in  a  beautiful  paradise, 
with  three  rivers  running  through  it,  the  waters 
of  life,  while  on  their  banks  grew  inviting  fruits, 
including  the  tabued  breadfruit-tree  and  the  sa- 
cred apple-tree.  Legends  exist  telling  how  man 
partook  of  the  forbidden  fruit  etc. 

Among  the  angels  who  had  been  created  was 
one  who  proved  the  Lucifer  of  Hawaiian  mythol- 
ogy, and  he  caused  a  riot  in  heaven,  by  demanding 
that  the  newly  ordered  man  should  worship  him. 
This  Kane  would  not  allow,  as  angels  as  well  as 
man  had  been  the  creation  of  the  gods.  There- 
upon, this  Kanaloa  went  to  work  to  make  a  man 
after  his  own  heart ;  that  is,  one  who  would  wor- 
ship him.  Kane  seemed  to  have  no  objection, 
but  though  Kanaloa  did  succeed  in  making  a 
very  creditable  looking  man,  he  could  not  endow 
it  with  life.  In  vain  he  breathed  into  its  nostrils, 
and  maddened  by  his  failure,  he  resolved  to  destroy 
the  man  made  by  the  gods.  He  stole  into  Paliuli, 
paradise,  as  a  moo  or  lizard,  and  beguiled  the 
original  pair  into  committing  an  offence  which 
caused  Kane  to  expel  them  from  the  garden. 

This  outlawed  pair  had  three  sons,  the  second 
of  whom  killed  the  first.  The  Hawaiian  Cain  was 
named  Laka.  Ka  Pili  was  the  youngest  son. 


ANCIENT  HAWAIIAN  RELIGION.  63 

whose  genealogy  is  traced  through  thirteen  gener- 
ations to  Nuu,  the  Hawaiian  Noah.  A  deluge 
following,  Nuu  built  an  ark,  and  entered  it  with 
his  wife,  three  sons,  and  a  male  and  a  female  of 
every  living  creature.  After  the  deluge  the  ark 
rested  on  the  mountain,  overlooking  a  beautiful 
valley.  In  his  gratefulness  Nuu  offered  a  sacrifice 
to  the  moon,  mistaking  it  for  Kane.  That  god 
reproved  him  for  his  mistake,  but  left  the  rain- 
bow as  a  token  of  his  forgiveness.  The  genealogy 
continues  for  ten  generations  before  coming  to  Ku 
Pule,  the  Hawaiian  Abraham,  who  takes  for  his 
wife  his  slave  woman,  Ahu.  Ku  Pule  established 
circumcision,  and  his  grandson  had  twelve  children, 
of  whom  were  descended  twelve  tribes  of  men,  from 
one  of  which,  Menehune,  came  the  Hawaiians. 

Hawaii  Loa,  fourth  in  descent  from  this  father 
of  the  Hawaiian  Israel,  set  sail  on  the  trackless 
sea,  and,  guided,  by  the  Pleiades,  eventually  reached 
the  island  of  Hawaii,  to  which  he  gave  his  name. 
Papa,  a  tabu  descendant  of  this  chief,  married  one 
Wakea  beneath  her  in  rank,  and  in  consequence 
quarrels  embittered  their  lives.  Wakea  basked 
in  the  smiles  of  the  beautiful  Hina,  and  the  island 
of  Molokai  was  the  result  of  their  embrace.  To 
offset  one  wrong  by  another,  Papa  gave  favour 


64  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

to  Lua,  and  she  bore  the  fair  Oahu.  Hence 
the  names  Molokai-Hina  and  Oahu-a-Lua. 

From  Wakea  to  the  Kamehamehas  fifty-six  gen- 
erations were  told,  or  twenty-nine  to  the  Maweke, 
who  reigned  in  the  eleventh  century,  when  the 
influx  from  the  southern  islands  made  such 
changes  in  the  religious  and  political  situation  of 
the  islands.  New  gods  were  introduced  by  the 
high  priest,  Pao,  the  tabu  enlarged  and  strength- 
ened, and  the  priesthood  made  hereditary,  and 
second  only  to  the  royal  head  of  government. 

The  people  were  now  allowed  to  mingle  less 
freely  in  the  forms  of  worship,  and  the  priest- 
hood assumed  a  more  serious  and  mysterious 
demeanour.  Kanaloa  was  exalted  among  the 
supreme  gods,  Kane,  Ku,  and  Lono.  Pele,  the  ter- 
rible goddess  of  the  volcanoes,  was  added  to  the 
deities,  and  temples  to  her  worship  were  erected 
all  over  the  volcanic  districts  of  Hawaii.  She 
was  the  most  picturesque  of  the  Hawaiian  deities. 
Among  her  sisters  and  brothers  were  Hiiaka,  the 
heaven-rending  cloud-holder ;  Maole,  the  fire-eyed 
canoe-breaker;  Hiiaka-ka,  the  red-hot  mountain 
lifting  clouds ;  Kapohoikahiola,  god  of  explosion ; 
Kane-kahili,  the  thunder  god ;  and  as  many  more 
with  as  weird  titles. 


ANCIENT  HAWAIIAN  RELIGION.  65 

The  gods  and  goddesses  named  did  not  com- 
mand all  of  the  worship  of  the  people,  for  heiaus 
were  built  to  the  war-gods  of  kings,  when  human 
sacrifices  were  offered,  and  humbler  temples  were 
reared  to  the  animals,  such  as  the  fish,  shark, 
and  lizard.  Superstition  everywhere  abounded, 
sprites  and  fairies  of  every  description  populating 
the  forests,  and  nymphs  and  monsters  swimming 
in  the  waters.  No  stream  or  valley  or  point  of 
land  but  had  its  wonderful  story  of  supernatural 
deeds.  The  people  made  their  own  household 
gods,  and  destroyed  them  when  they  failed  to 
respond  to  their  satisfaction.  It  was  believed 
that  the  spirits  of  the  departed  remained  to  hover 
over  their  earthly  homes,  and  these  shades  were 
objects  of  prayer. 

The  high  priest  did  not  have  anything  to  do 
with  these  lower  deities,  the  heiau  over  which 
he  presided  being  dedicated  to  the  trinity  or  the 
war-god  of  the  king,  to  whom  he  was  next  in 
authority.  Assisted  by  seers,  and  prophets  grown 
gray  in  years  if  not  in  wisdom,  and  pretending 
to  court  the  favour  of  the  gods,  he  was  consulted 
on  all  matters  of  grave  importance.  Sometimes 
he  had  charge  of  the  king's  war-gods,  when 
he  went  into  the  field  of  battle,  many  stories 


66  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

being  told  of  such  action  changing  the  tide  of 
conflict. 

Ailments  of  the  body  were  attributed  to  the 
displeasure  of  the  gods,  witchcraft,  or  the  prayers 
of  some  kahuna,  or  witch-doctor,  who  had  been 
offended.  The  kahuna  called  to  minister  to  the 
afflicted,  first  sought  to  discover  the  cause  of  his 
patient's  disorder,  and  then  set  himself  about 
counteracting  the  spell  by  prayers  and  incanta- 
tions. In  this  way  it  was  believed  he  sometimes 
succeeded  in  transferring  the  malady  to  the  person 
whose  anger  had  caused  it. 

The  ancient  Hawaiians  believed  that  another 
person  had  the  power,  under  certain  conditions, 
to  pray  him  to  death.  For  the  kahuna  to  do  this 
it  was  necessary  that  he  should  possess  some  article 
belonging  to  the  victim,  such  as  a  lock  of  his  hair, 
a  tooth,  nail,  or  even  some  of  his  spittle.  For 
this  reason  each  king  had  his  spittoon  bearer,  an 
office  entrusted  only  to  some  faithful  person. 

The  Hawaiian  heiau  or  temple  was  a  walled 
inclosure  of  from  one  to  five  acres  in  extent,  laid 
out  in  irregular  form,  the  walls  sometimes  being 
as  high  as  twenty  feet,  and  ten  feet  thick.  They 
were  rough  barriers,  occasionally  capped  with  slabs 
of  hewn  coral.  Inside  was  a  house  of  sacrifice, 


RUINS    OF    AN    ANCIENT    HAWAIIAN    TEMPLE. 


ANCIENT  HAWAIIAN  RELIGION.  67 

called  the  luakina,  of  small  dimensions,  and  built 
of  stone  or  wood.  In  front  of  this  stood  the"  lele, 
or  altar,  a  raised  stone  platform.  Beyond  the 
first  temple  was  another  sacred  to  the  priest, 
and  within  this  was  a  small  wicker  enclosure  called 
the  amu,  from  whence  the  kaulas,  or  prophets, 
issued  their  oracles  amid  a  scene  of  darkness  and 
in  a  tragical  tone  of  voice.  The  walls  were  cov- 
ered with  images  of  the  principal  gods,  and  the 
other  and  inner  walls  were  surmounted  by  lines; 
of  stone  and  wooden  idols. 

Dwellings  for  the  high  priest  and  his  associates 
stood  near  the  temples,  while  a  house  for  the  king, 
when  seeking  consultation  at  the  place,  stood  a 
little  removed  from  those  of  the  kaulas.  At  the 
entrance  to  the  enclosure  was  an  elevated  cross, 
the  tabu  staff,  and  near  this  was  a  stone  building, 
in  which  the  victims  for  the  altar  were  slain. 

Human  sacrifices  were  usually  offered  at  the 
building  of  a  heiau,  and  when  completed  they 
were  dedicated  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony, 
the  altar  heaped  with  human  bodies. 

The  ordinary  services  at  the  temples  consisted 
simply  of  offerings  of  meats  and  fruits,  with 
chants  and  prayers,  the  people  being  allowed  to 
join,  the  male  portion  of  the  inhabitants  being 


68  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

often  permitted  to  participate.  The  women  were 
not  admitted,  but  if  denied  entrance  to  the  sacred 
grounds  were  exempt  from  a  draft  when  human 
lives  were  required  for  sacrifice.  Desiring  an 
augury,  the  king  would  proceed  alone  or  with  his 
high  priest  to  the  heiau,  asking  of  the  kaulas  an 
answer  to  his  question.  If  the  replies  from  the 
amu  did  not  meet  his  expectations  other  methods 
were  resorted  to,  such  as  the  shape  and  move- 
ments of  the  clouds,  pigs  and  fowls  were  opened 
that  their  intestines,  believed  to  be  the  seat  of 
thought,  be  examined.  Previous  to  engaging  in 
war,  human  sacrifices  were  generally  offered,  and 
the  first  prisoners  taken  in  battle  were  kept  for 
the  altar.  The  priests  numbered  the  victims, 
while  the  king  saw  that  they  were  furnished, 
either  from  persons  held  for  some  misdemeanour 
or  taken  wherever  they  happened  to  be  found. 
The  victims  were  slain  with  clubs,  at  the  place 
mentioned,  and  then  laid  on  the  altar  to  decay. 

There  were  also  temples  of  refuge,  called  puho- 
nuas,  on  the  island  of  Hawaii,  one  of  these  being 
located  at  Waipoo,  where  the  great  heiau  existed 
for  many  years,  known  as  Paa-kdlani.  The  gates 
of  the  puhonuas  were  guarded  by  the  priests  and 
always  open.  Any  one  who  succeeded  in  gaming 


ANCIENT  HAWAIIAN  EELIGION.  69 

these  retreats  was  safe  from  king  or  priest,  be  he 
chief  or  slave,  a  warrior  escaping  from  the  enemy 
or  a  criminal  flying  from  justice.  The  puhonua 
mentioned  existed  until  the  destruction  of  the 
temples  and  overthrow  of  paganism  in  1819. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  brief  outline  that  the 
religion  of  the  early  Hawaiians  was  a  strange  com- 
pound of  idolatrous  forms  and  sacrifices  founded 
upon  the  Jewish  account  of  the  creation,  fall  of 
man,  revolt  of  Lucifer,  the  deluge  and  repopula- 
tion  of  the  earth.  One  of  the  most  important 
functions  of  this  religion  was  the  tabu,  which 
meant  restriction  or  denial  of  certain  rights  and 
privileges  to  particular  persons  at  all  or  different 
times.  It  was  a  command  to  do  or  not  to  do, 
and  it  implied,  if  not  expressed,  "  obey  or  die." 
There  were  three  kinds,  the  religious  tabus,  the 
personal  or  perpetual  tabus,  and  the  temporal  or 
incidental  tabus.  The  last  was  the  most  perni- 
cious, as  it  was  changeable,  and  less  understood 
by  the  inhabitants  and  the  most  likely  to  be  unwit- 
tingly broken.  The  others  were  well  understood 
by  the  people. 

No  one  was  acknowledged  the  power  of  tabu 
unless  he  had  royal  lineage,  that  is,  the  blood  of 
nobility  flowing  in  his  veins  which  he  could  prove 


70  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

by  his  genealogical  record.  As  a  distinguishing 
feature  the  king  and  his  priesthood  had  different 
colours  denoting  their  tabus,  the  first  being  yellow 
and  the  last  red.  Thus  mantles  made  from  the 
feathers  of  the  oo  and  mamo  could  be  worn  only 
by  kings  and  princes.  Capes  of  a  mingling  red 
and  yellow  were  worn  by  the  lower  nobility. 

The  priesthood  claimed  everything  pertaining 
to  it  as  sacred,  or  tabu.  The  pig  running  at  large 
but  destined  to  be  a  part  of  the  regular  feast  or 
festival  was  tabu,  while  the  squid  and  turtle,  with 
two  or  three  specimens  of  birds,  belonged  only  to 
the  food  of  the  nobility. 

Women  more  especially  than  the  men  felt  the 
tabu.  No  female  was  allowed  to  partake  of  the 
plantain,  banana,  or  cocoanut,  the  flesh  of  swine 
or  certain  fish ;  under  no  circumstance  was  she 
permitted  to  eat  with  men. 

A  common  tabu,  proclaimed  by  the  king's  her- 
alds, required  simply  that  the  people  abandon  their 
daily  occupations  and  attend  the  services  at  the 
heiaus  or  temples.  The  religious  tabus  demanded 
that  not  only  should  work  be  stopped,  but  that 
no  person  save  a  priest  and  his  assistants  should 
leave  his  place  of  abode ;  all  fires  and  lights  must 
be  extinguished ;  bathing  for  the  time  given  up ; 


ANCIENT  HAWAIIAN  RELIGION.  71 

canoeing  ended ;  all  domestic  creatures  confined  or 
muzzled  so  as  not  to  break  the  silence,  which 
was  not  broken  by  a  word  spoken  above  a  whis- 
per. Amid  this  silence  and  sacrifice  the  people 
imagined  they  were  pleasing  the  gods  highly. 

During  these  tabus  notice  not  to  enter  the  sacred 
groves,  paths  or  bathing-places,  the  grounds  of  the 
temples  or  the  royal  residence  was  given  by  plac- 
ing at  these  places  or  their  entrances  the  paliou- 
lou,  a  tall  pole  tufted  with  white  or  black  kapa. 
General  tabus  were  made  to  please  the  gods  or  in 
celebration  of  some  important  event.  They  were 
common  or  "  strict,"  and  included  more  or  less 
territory,  extending  in  time  from  one  to  ten  days. 

However  foolish  or  despotic  a  tabu  may  seem  to 
have  been,  it  was  rarely  broken,  as  those  in  power 
deemed  it  extremely  dangerous  to  permit  any 
laxness  on  the  part  of  the  people,  while  they 
considered  it  as  a  safeguard  against  godly  wrath 
and  vengeance. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    LAST    DEFENDERS    OF    THE    OLD    FAITH. 

T^AMEHAMEHA  I.  had  died  in  the  faith  of 
4:  his  fathers.  The  Conqueror  had  been  too 
busy  with  his  wars  to  give  heed  to  the  waning 
influences  of  the  priests ;  too  much  engrossed  in 
strengthening  the  temporal  powers  to  give  serious 
thought  to  the  spiritual  well-being  of  his  people. 
But  the  broken  intercourse  with  the  foreigners 
visiting  the  islands  had  somewhat  affected  the 
belief  of  the  masses.  They  had  seen  these  strange 
men  openly  violate  the  tabus  and  not  suffer  harm ; 
they  had  seen  them  stand  erect  in  the  presence  of 
their  gods  and  not  be  stricken  down.  So  they 
began  to  question,  and  to  question  was  to  doubt, 
the  divine  origin  of  that  religious  code  which 
affected  them  and  not  others. 

It  was  left,  however,  for  a  woman  to  lead  in  the 
tearing  down  of  the  old  walls  of  barbarism,  and 
leaving  the  field  open  to  whomsoever  happened  to 
come  that  way.  Still  this  was  not  done  from  the 

72 


THE  LAST  DEFENDERS   OF  THE  OLD  FAITH.      73 

purest  motives  —  at  least  not  instigated  from  love 
for  the  people.  Upon  the  death  of  Kamehameha 
I.,  May  8,  1819,  Liholiho,  his  son,  succeeded  to 
the  kingship,  with  his  father's  favourite  wife, 
Kaahumanu,  second  in  authority  and  guardian  of 
the  realm.  It  was  this  woman  who  resolved  to 
free  her  sex  from  the  bondage  of  the  tabu. 

Though  given  prerogatives  which  placed  her 
high  in  position  and  influence,  she  found  many 
restrictions  placed  upon  her  actions  that  were  irk- 
some and  hard  to  bear.  Some  of  the  most  pala- 
table foods  were  denied  her  through  these  ancient 
customs ;  her  meeting  with  the  foreigners  was 
marred  by  certain  religious  interdictions,  in  which 
she  was  being  continually  reminded  of  the  inferi- 
ority of  her  sex.  She  must  have  been  a  bold, 
ambitious  woman  who  could  deliberately  set  her- 
self about  this  herculean  task.  That  she  was  equal 
to  anything  that  she  chose  to  undertake  subsequent 
events  proved. 

She  was  childless  herself,  and  having  no  one  to 
turn  to  in  that  direction,  she  first  sought  the 
mother  of  the  young  king,  Keopuolani,  who  was 
won  over  to  her  support.  Then  she  boldly  ap- 
proached the  prime  minister,  Kalaimoku,  and 
through  him  she  reached  the  high  priest,  Hewa- 


74  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

hewa,  who  claimed  descent  from  the  renowned 
Pao.  Though  the  political  wife  of  the  great  con- 
queror, who  always  approached  her  with  his  face 
to  the  earth,  Keopuolani  was  weak  in  her  decisions 
and  easily  changed  in  her  purpose.  Whatever 
persuasion  Kaahumanu  used  upon  the  other  two, 
Hewahewa  must  have  yielded  from  a  conviction 
of  his  own.  He  was  a  thinking  man,  who  had 
delved  deeper  than  all  others  into  this  mystery 
of  pagan  worship,  and  seen  many  of  its  absurdi- 
ties. But  to  enter  this  conspiracy  meant  more  to 
him  than  his  companions.  He  had  all  to  lose  or 
gain.  Supreme  in  his  present  position  as  the  hon- 
oured head  of  a  system  as  old  as  tradition,  to  take 
up  this  work  meant  a  sacrifice  of  everything.  A 
faint  inkling  of  the  new  creed  had  come  to  his 
inquiring  mind,  and  he  firmly  took  his  chances 
with  the  strong-minded  Kaahumanu. 

If  the  son  of  a  conqueror,  like  his  mother, 
Liholiho  was  a  weakling.  His  father  had  so 
firmly  established  his  power  that  wars  were  not 
looked  for,  and  Liholiho  had  spent  his  youth,  not 
as  his  father  had,  in  warlike  practices,  but  in 
idleness  and  dissipation.  It  was  this  fact,  realised 
by  the  late  king,  which  had  caused  Kaahumanu 
to  have  been  given  so  much  voice  in  the  rule, 


THE  LAST  DEFENDERS   OF  THE   OLD  FAITH.      75 

and,  if  Liholiho  reigned  unworthily,  the  power  to 
assume  entire  control  of  the  kingdom. 

At  the  end  of  his  season  of  mourning,  while 
he  tarried  away  from  the  royal  palace,  Kaahu- 
manu  sent  the  young  king  a  message  that  upon 
his  return  she  should  set  the  gods  at  defiance  by 
breaking  the  tabu.  Liholiho  had  already  learned 
that  there  was  a  growing  sentiment  against  certain 
restrictions,  and  the  high  priest  had  warned  him 
that  the  power  of  the  priesthood  was  near  its  end. 
Trembling  for  the  result,  particularly  to  himself,  if 
it  should  be  done,  he  delayed  his  return  to  Kailua 
as  long  as  possible. 

Finally,  on  October  1,  1819,  he  set  sail  with  a 
fleet  of  four  canoes  toward  the  royal  palace,  taking 
passage  himself  on  the  foremost  and  largest  of  the 
craft.  Around  him  were  his  queen,  his  royal  treas- 
urer, and  others  of  note  and  power  in  the  kingdom. 
Dreading  his  arrival  at  their  destination,  as  it  was 
likely  to  bring  a  crisis  in  affairs,  the  worried  king 
allowed  his  little  fleet  to  move  leisurely  along  the 
coast,  the  sails  being  set  to  catch  just  enough 
wind  to  keep  them  on  their  course.  Carousings 
then  began  in  the  royal  quarters,  hula  dancers 
appearing  on  the  exciting  scene,  their  light  feet 
moved  to  music  of  drums  and  rattling  of  cala- 


76  THE  PAEADISE   OF   THE  PACIFIC. 

bashes.  Intoxicating  liquors  were  passed  from  one 
to  another,  until  such  carousals  were  under  way  as 
had  never  been  witnessed  on  the  eight  Hawaiian 
seas. 

In  the  midst  of  this  drunken  revelry  the  king, 
not  to  be  outdone,  tossed  into  the  water  two  bottles 
of  liquor,  shouting : 

"  Drink,  Kuula !  drink,  Ukanipo  !  Let  the 
water-gods  be  as  drunk  as  men ! " 

"  Let  us  hope  the  gods  may  not  be  hopelessly 
offended,"  remarked  a  companion. 

"  Then  you  have  not  lost  faith  in  the  gods, 
Laanui  ?  "  asked  the  king. 

"Never,"  replied  the  surprised  attendant,  and 
the  king  dared  not  continue  the  conversation. 

Two  days  later  Liholiho  appeared  at  the  feast 
prepared  for  his  reception  at  Kailua,  and  the  quick- 
eyed  Kaahumanu  knew  that  he  was  in  the  right 
condition  to  commit  some  flagrant  act  against 
the  tabu  if  shrewdly  managed.  Once  an  offence 
committed,  he  would  be  forced  to  take  a  bold 
stand  in  her  favour.  Hewahewa  was  still  deter- 
mined to  carry  out  his  part,  and  Keopuolani  was 
still  faithful.  Accordingly  the  king  was  bantered 
to  drink  with  the  females  of  the  household,  and  he 
did  not  refuse.  Thereupon  his  mother  ate  a  ba- 


THE  LAST  DEFENDERS   OF  THE   OLD   FAITH.      77 

nana  in  his  presence,  and  drank  the  milk  of  a 
cocoanut.  This  caused  the  desperate  monarch  to 
declare  that  he  would  openly  break  the  tabu  that 
day. 

"  At  the  feast  ?  "  asked  Kaahumanu. 

"  At  the  feast,"  he  replied. 

"  Then  you  will  "be  greater  than  your  father, 
and  it  will  be  the  proudest  day  Hawaii  ever 
knew,"  said  the  crafty  schemer. 

But  even  then  the  conspirators  did  not  dare 
to  allow  the  king  out  of  their  sight,  until  they  all 
took  their  seats  at  the  prospective  tables,  when 
Liholiho's  courage  began  to  leave  him,  as  he  gazed 
on  the  wooden  images  of  Ku  and  Lono  just  oppo- 
site him.  In  a  frenzy  he  seized  a  glass  of  liquor, 
which  he  drained  at  one  quaff.  Hewahewa,  believ- 
ing the  critical  moment  had  come,  rose,  and  lifting 
his  hands,  said  in  an  impressive  voice  : 

"  In  peace  may  we  eat,  one  and  all,  and  let  our 
hearts  return  thanks  to  the  one  and  only  god 
of  all." 

The  king  listened  and  his  sinking  courage 
revived.  Rising  impetuously,  he  crossed  over 
to  where  the  women  were  seated  at  the  table 
reserved  for  them,  and  seated  himself  by  his 
mother's  side.  Silence  now  reigned  on  every 


78  THE  PAEADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

hand,  while  one  and  all  watched  the  king,  whom 
they  believed  to  be  drunk.  Never  had  the  gods 
been  so  defied  and  the  offender  spared,  as  far  as 
they  knew.  Then  surprise  gave  place  to  horror 
and  consternation,  as  they  saw  the  king  partake 
of  the  food  prepared  for  the  women.  Some  of 
those  present  hastily  left  the  tables  ;  others,  see- 
ing that  the  high  priest  seemed  to  sanction  the 
kingly  example,  watched  the  scene  with  breathless 
interest. 

"  The  tabu  is  broken !  "  some  one  whispered. 
Others  took  up  the  words,  until  passed  from  lip 
to  lip  the  cry,  « The  tabu  is  broken !  "  The 
murmur  swelled  in  volume  to  a  shout  heard 
beyond  the  pavilion,  and  taken  up  by  the  crowd 
outside,  was  carried  to  the  remotest  corner  of 
Kona. 

The  royal  feast  over  and  the  multitude  clamor- 
ous over  the  late  proceedings,  Hewahewa  capped 
the  climax  by  saying  : 

"  Seeing  we  have  made  such  a  bold  beginning, 
my  king,  we  can  stop  only  with  the  death  of 
the  gods  and  the  destruction  of  the  heiaus ! " 

"  So  be  it ! "  exclaimed  the  desperate  Liholiho, 
who  was  beginning  to  realise  what  he  had  done. 
"  If  the  gods  can  punish,  we  have  done  enough 


THE  LAST  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  OLD  FAITH.   79 

already  to  cost  us  our  lives.  Down  with  the  gods 
and  let  the  full  measure  of  their  wrath  make  merry 
our  fates  ! " 

First  resigning  publicly,  then  and  there,  his 
priestly  office,  Hewahewa  applied  the  torch  to 
the  sacred  temple,  and  the  smoke  arising  above 
the  smouldering  ruins  of  that  day  spread  until 
it  was  wafted  from  Hawaii  to  Niihau,  until  the 
heiaus,  images,  and  sacred  belongings  of  a  relig- 
ion more  than  fifteen  hundred  years  old  were 
ashes,  and  the  reverential  people  of  the  island 
kingdom  without  a  religion  or  the  knowledge  of 
a  god. 

If  a  weak  king  had  yielded  blindly  to  this 
astounding  overthrow  of  religious  principles, 
there  were  those  with  belief  in  the  old  faith 
strong  enough,  and  with  the  courage  of  their  con- 
victions bold  enough  to  attempt  to  stay  the  tide 
of  events.  The  leader  in  this  defence  was  a 
cousin  of  the  king,  one  Kekuaokalani,  a  true 
Kamehameha,  both  in  physique  and  warlike 
spirit.  Standing  a  full  head  above  the  ordinary 
men  in  height,  there  was  not  a  chief  in  all  Hawaii 
with  a  more  superb  figure,  and  he  was  as  brave 
and  sagacious  as  he  was  tall  and  handsome.  Hav- 
ing no  taste  for  the  frivolities  of  the  court,  and 


80  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

there  being  no  war  for  him  to  develop  his  natu- 
ral energies  and  inclinations,  he  had  turned  his 
mind  to  the  priesthood.  Beginning  by  mastering 
the  historic  meles,  he  advanced  step  by  step,  until 
he  stood  next  in  rank  to  the  high  priest,  and  the 
equal  in  every  other  way  to  the  wise  Hewahewa. 
Younger  than  the  latter,  as  learned  in  the  eso- 
teric lore  and  the  secret  symbols  of  the  religious 
code,  while  humane  and  generous,  he  was  ex- 
pected to  succeed  him  when  the  other  laid  aside 
the  priestly  mantle.  Kekuaokalani  was  happy 
in  the  companionship  of  a  wife  who  appreciated 
the  nobility  of  his  character,  and  bestowed  upon 
him  the  full  wealth  of  her  affections,  as  she 
might  have  worshipped  a  god. 

This  loyal  supporter  of  the  old  religion  was 
present  at  the  feast  when  Liholiho  violated  the 
tabu,  and  he  listened  with  dismay  when  the  king 
decreed  the  destruction  of  the  temples.  With 
horror  in  his  heart  he  saw  Hewahewa  apply  the 
torch  to  the  heiau  where  they  had  worshipped 
together,  and  the  strong  man  wept,  throwing 
himself  on  the  ground,  and  praying  that  his  sight 
might  be  blasted  before  he  should  be  called  upon 
to  witness  another  scene  of  such  desecration. 

Understanding  the  condition  of  Liholiho  at  the 


THE  LAST  DEFENDERS   OF  THE  OLD  FAITH.      81 

time,  he  found  an  excuse  for  him,  but  Kekuao- 
kalani  sought  the  high  priest,  believing  that  he 
must  have  acted  under  some  strange  power  which 
had  rendered  him  unaccountable  for  his  actions. 
His  feelings  may  be  imagined  when  he  found 
Hewahewa  not  only  clear  in  mind,  but  with  a  heart 
in  accord  with  what  the  king  and  he  had  done. 
In  his  anguish  he  exclaimed  : 

"  To  think  that  I  should  have  lived  to  hear 
a  high  priest  of  the  blood  of  Pao  — " 

"  I  am  not  the  high  priest,"  replied  Hewahewa, 
calmly.  "I  have  advised  the  king  to  that  effect." 

"  Then  the  vacant  place  is  mine,"  said  Kekuao- 
kalani. 

"  By  whose  appointment  ?  " 

"  The  trinity  of  gods,  whose  temples  you  have 
turned  to  ashes,"  answered  Kekuaokalani,  starting 
in  the  direction  of  the  pavilion.  Upon  reaching 
the  place  he  lifted  from  the  ruins  the  muti- 
lated and  dishonoured  image  of  the  god  Lono, 
and  with  the  grim  form  upon  his  shoulders  he 
marched  defiantly  past  the  king's  mansion  and 
disappeared. 

During  the  week  that  followed,  the  work  of 
destruction  to  the  temples  went  on,  with  here  and 
there  mutterings  against  the  wholesale  slaughter. 


82  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

From  these  scattered  and  dissatisfied  opposers, 
largely  the  priests  who  had  been  suddenly  wrested 
of  their  fat  offices,  a  formidable  conspiracy  was 
formed  to  reinstate  the  whole.  The  people  might 
be  willing  to  give  up  the  tabu  at  the  word  of  a 
capricious  king,  but  the  priesthood  would  not  con- 
sent to  see  their  craft  robbed  of  its  ancient  glory. 
Idols  of  all  sorts  were  snatched  from  the  burning 
heiaus,  and  around  the  desecrated  gods  a  thou- 
sand excited  and  maddened  persons  gathered  to 
reiterate  their  allegiance  to  the  old  faith,  and 
fight  for  it  if  need  be. 

Liholiho  was  inclined  to  treat  the  reports  of  the 
rebellion  lightly,  until  Hewahewa  pointed  out  to 
him  that  Kekuaokalani  would  naturally  become 
the  leader. 

"  Then  take  forty  warriors  arid  bring  him  a 
prisoner  to  Kailua,"  ordered  the  king. 

"It  may  be  tried,  my  king,"  said  Hewahewa, 
"but  not  forty  times  forty  warriors  can  bring 
Kekuaokalani  here  a  prisoner.  Let  him  alone ; 
it  would  but  excite  the  multitude.  Without  him 
the  revolt  will  amount  to  nothing;  with  him  it 


means  war." 


"  Let  him  be  bribed  to  peace,  since  you  will  have 
it  so." 


THE  LAST  DEFENDERS   OF  THE   OLD   FAITH.      83 

"  Only  one  bribe  can  purchase  Kekuaokalani." 

"  And  that  ?  "  asked  the  king,  hopefully. 

"  Must  be  the  rebuilding  of  the  heiaus  and  the 
restoration  of  the  tabu." 

Liholiho  was  silenced.  However,  preparations 
for  war  were  begun,  and  a  few  days  later  the 
royal  army,  numbering  nearly  two  thousand 
warriors,  moved  toward  the  district  of  Kaa- 
waloa,  where  the  rebels  had  made  their  head- 
quarters. 

As  Hewahewa  had  predicted,  Kekuaokalani  had 
been  made  leader  of  the  insurgents,  and  believing 
that  he  had  been  selected  by  the  will  of  the  out- 
raged gods  for  their  defence,  he  acted  with  such 
energy  and  enthusiasm  that  within  a  short  time 
he  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  force  scarcely 
inferior  to  that  of  the  king.  He  had  good  reason 
to  believe  in  a  fulfilment  of  his  dreams,  and  with 
the  stern  incentive  that  sent  these  warriors  to 
battle,  the  fate  of  the  line  of  'Kamehameha  was 
seriously  threatened. 

A  few  days  later  the  rebels  met  and  put  to 
rout  the  royal  army.  It  was  now  the  season  of 
tabu,  the  five  days  between  the  winter  solstice 
and  the  new  year  sacred  to  festivities  to  Lono, 
and  at  a  heiau  near  Kaawaloa  that  he  had  saved 


84  THE  PARADISE   OF   THE  PACIFIC. 

from  destruction,  Kekuaokalani  offered  renewed 
sacrifices  to  the  gods  and  prayed  for  final  tri- 
umph. The  king  now  made  overtures  of  peace, 
which  were  candidly  considered,  but  as  no  prom- 
ise of  what  he  was  fighting  for  was  given  he  sadly 
shook  his  head. 

"Then,"  said  Keopuolani,  the  king's  mother, 
who  had  been  selected  for  this  delicate  mission, 
with  sorrow,  "  I  must  say  to  Liholiho  that  Kekuao- 
kalani will  have  nothing  but  war  ?  " 

"Not so,  honoured  mother  of  princes,"  replied 
Kekuaokalani,  in  a  tone  of  deep  respect,  and  so 
impressive  that  the  listeners  were  awed.  "  Say 
to  Liholiho  that  Kekuaokalani,  the  last  of  the 
high  priests  it  may  be,  prefers  to  die  in  defence 
of  the  gods  in  whose  service  he  has  devoted  his 
life.  If  they  are  what  he  believes  them  to  be, 
their  temples  will  rise  again ;  if  they  are  not, 
then  he  wishes  to  hide  his  disappointment  under 
the  green  sward."  That  very  night  he  marched 
his  army  in  the  direction  of  Kailua,  and  the 
next  morning  the  hostile  forces  met  at  Kaumoo. 
Forming  his  men  in  battle  line,  Kekuaokalani 
sent  his  high  priest  to  the  front  with  several 
newly  made  gods,  and  he  delivered  an  impas- 
sioned address  to  his  warriors,  calling  upon  them 


THE  LAST  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  OLD  FAITH.   85 

in   terms   of   burning   eloquence   to   defend   with 
their  lives  the  gods  of  their  fathers. 

The  royal  army  was  now  led  by  Kalaimoku,  the 
prime  minister,  but  so  heroically  did  the  rebels 
fight  that  the  battle  opened  in  their  favour,  and 
would  doubtless  have  ended  in  the  total  annihila- 
tion of  the  king's  forces  had  it  not  been  for  their 
superiority  of  weapons,  having  many  firearms, 
and  the  assistance  of  some  foreigners.  His  war- 
riors finally  breaking  in  a  panic  before  the  deadly 
fire  of  a  battalion  of  musketeers,  Kekuaokalani, 
already  seriously  wounded,  rallied  them  under 
cover  of  a  stone  wall.  Here  such  a  desperate 
stand  was  made  that  again  it  looked  so  they 
were  to  gain  the  victory.  But  this  situation 
was  near  the  shore,  and  a  squadron  of  double 
canoes  under  command  of  Kaahumanu  appeared 
on  the  scene  at  the  opportune  moment.  These 
warriors  sent  such  a  volley  of  shot  from  the  rear 
that  the  insurgents  were  obliged  to  scatter,  never 
to  rally  again.  The  few  who  managed  to  escape 
fled  to  the  hills.  Kekuaokalani,  whose  tall  form 
had  been  everywhere  present  in  the  brunt  of 
the  fight,  was  struck  by  a  stray  shot,  and  fell 
with  a  bullet  in  his  heart.  As  he  expired  a 
woman's  voice  rang  out  above  the  medley  of  cries, 


86  THE  PABADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

and  the  dead  priest's  wife,  who  had  hovered  near 
the  scene  and  herself  rendered  many  effective 
blows,  sprang  to  his  side.  A  bullet  at  that 
moment  pierced  her  temple,  and  she  dropped 
lifeless  on  the  body  of  her  husband. 

The  first  to  reach  them  was  Kalaimoku,  who 
said  impressively,  as  he  gazed  on  the  noble 
features  of  the  dead  priest : 

"  Truly,  since  the  days  of  Keawe,  a  grander 
Hawaiian  has  not  lived  than  Kekuaokalani." 

In  this  manner  died  the  last  defenders  of  the 
Hawaiian  gods,  and  they  sleep  where  they  fell  on 
the  battle-field  of  Kuamoo.  A  rude  monument 
fittingly  symbolising  their  wild  natures  marks  the 
spot,  and  the  Hawaiian  passing  the  place  to-day 
bows  reverently,  believing  that  kona,  the  south 
wind,  attunes  itself  to  a  mournful  requiem  for  the 
departed  ones  who  died  so  bravely  for  the  lost 
cause. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MISSIONARY   WORK. 

TNCIDENTS  of  little  moment  in  themselves 
•  often  lead  to  important  and  wide-spread  conse- 
quences. A  small  boy,  dusky-skinned,  brown-eyed, 
clad  in  scanty  raiment,  and  a  stranger  in  a  strange 
land,  found  on  the  doorsteps  of  a  resident  graduate 
of  Yale  College,  proved  a  messenger  to  awaken 
the  church  of  New  England  to  the  condition  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  as  no  one 
else  had.  Between  his  sobs  he  told  in  broken  lan- 
guage a  pathetic  tale  of  the  sacrifice  of  parents  to 
the  rites  of  a  pagan  people,  of  his  flight  with  a 
young  brother  and  two  friends  to  save  themselves 
from  a  similar  fate,  of  the  capture  and  putting  to 
death,  before  their  eyes,  of  his  little  brother,  of 
the  final  escape  of  himself  and  companions,  who 
managed  to  conceal  themselves  on  an  American 
vessel,  and  eventually  reached  this  country.  A 
Mr.  D wight,  who  listened  to  this  story  with  great 

87 


88  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

interest,  took  the  three  under  his  charge,  teaching 
them  the  English  language,  and  in  turn  learning 
all  he  could  of  the  island  kingdom.  This  boy, 
Opukahaia,  did  not  live  to  see  his  dream  of  free- 
ing his  people  realised,  but  his  two  friends,  ten 
years  later,  at  the  very  time  the  last  defenders 
of  the  old  religion  of  Hawaii  were  meeting  their 
tragic  fates,  were  among  a  little  congregation  of 
courageous  men  and  women  organised  in  Park 
Street  Church,  Boston,  with  the  express  purpose 
of  carrying  the  light  of  Christianity  to  the 
benighted  race. 

This  little  band,  besides  the  two  young  Hawai- 
ians,  Kamoree  and  Hopu,  was  composed  of  nine- 
teen persons,  two  young  graduates  of  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  Hiram  Bingham  and  Asa 
Thurston,  Dr.  Thomas  Holman,  Samuel  Ruggles, 
a  teacher,  Samuel  Whitney,  a  mechanic,  Daniel 
Chamberlain,  a  farmer,  and  Elisha  Loomis,  a 
printer,  all  with  their  wives,  and  five  children 
belonging  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chamberlain.  This 
party  left  Boston  on  the  brig  Thaddeus,  October 
23,  1819,  and,  after  a  six  months'  voyage  around 
Cape  Horn,  on  March  31,  1820,  the  snow-clad 
peaks  of  Mauna  Kea  rose  before  the  vision  of  the 
weary  seafarers. 


QUEEN    KAPIOLANI. 


MISSIONARY   WOEK.  89 

They  were  received  by  the  foreign  population  of 
the  islands  with  opposition,  but  the  king  granted 
the  missionaries  permission  to  tarry  a  year.  Mr. 
Bingham,  assisted  by  his  laymen,  Messrs.  Loomis 
and  Chamberlain,  began  work  at  Oahu.  Soon  the 
printing-press  of  the  former  was  running,  and  the 
first  spelling-books  for  these  people  were  printed. 
Messrs.  Ruggles  and  Whitney  went  to  Kauai, 
where  a  chapel  and  school  were  soon  built,  the 
king  and  his  chiefs  being  among  their  first  pupils 
both  in  the  teachings  of  church  and  school.  Rev. 
Asa  Thurston  and  Doctor  Holman,  with  their 
wives,  settled  at  Kailua,  on  the  island  of  Hawaii, 
which  historic  spot  is  still  pointed  out  to  the 
newcomer  as  one  of  great  interest. 

The  Hawaiians  were  peculiarly  well  situated  to 
receive  the  doctrines  of  the  teachers  of  the  new 
faith.  They  have  always  been,  indeed,  quick  to 
grasp  any  form  of  knowledge,  and  the  missionaries 
found  fertile  fields  for  their  religious  cultivation. 
The  little  handful  of  religious  workers  in  four 
years  found  as  many  thousand  earnest  converts. 
Among  the  first  to  accept  the  new  faith  was  the 
chiefess,  Kapiolani,  who  was  six  feet  tall  and  with 
the  haughty  air  of  the  ancient  nobility.  Know- 
ing better  than  the  missionaries  the  depth  of  the 


90  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

superstition  which  still  lingered  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people,  she  resolved  to  teach  them  a  lesson 
they  would  not  soon  forget.  Thus  she  planned 
a  visit  to  the  crater  of  Kilauea,  the  abode  of  the 
goddess  Pele,  then  most  feared  and  revered  by 
the  common  masses.  A  party  of  curious,  excited 
watchers,  with  awed  looks  and  trembling  steps, 
followed  her  to  the  sacred  spot. 

As  she  drew  near  the  dwelling  of  the  fiery 
goddess,  she  was  met  by  the  priestess  of  Pele,  who 
demanded  her  errand.  Upon  telling  her  object, 
without  revealing  the  real  motive  prompting  it, 
and  quoting  passages  from  the  Scripture,  she  was 
forbidden  to  proceed.  At  the  brink  of  the  crater 
she  was  met  by  a  missionary,  Mr.  Goodrich,  who 
had  caused  a  shelter  to  be  built  for  her,  where  the 
brave  chief  ess  passed  the  night.  In  the  morning, 
accompanied  by  the  missionary  and  several  believ- 
ing Hawaiians,  with  half  a  hundred  doubters  lin- 
gering near  by,  she  descended  into  the  crater  to  a 
place  called  the  "  black  ledge,"  where  she  paused 
in  sight  of  the  seething  fire.  In  her  hand  she 
carried  a  bunch  of  ohelo  berries,  held  sacred  to 
the  goddess.  These  berries  she  deliberately  ate  in 
plain  sight  of  the  amazed  spectators,  and  threw 
the  stones  into  the  burning  lake,  crying  : 


MISSIONARY   WORK.  91 

"  Thus  do  I  defy  thee,  0  Pele  !  Jehovah  is  my 
God.  He  kindles  these  fires  and  he  preserves  me 
in  breaking  your  tabus." 

Then,  while  the  awestricken  beholders  looked  on 
in  silence,  a  hymn  of  praise  was  sung,  when  all 
knelt  in  humble  recognition  of  the  great  creator 
of  the  universe.  Kapiolani's  brave  act  served  to 
a  considerable  extent  to  remove  the  superstition, 
though  it  was  impossible  to  destroy  at  once  the 
belief  of  ages.  It  was  made  the  occasion  of  a 
poem  by  Tennyson. 

Other  missionaries,  from  time  to  time,  fol- 
lowed the  pioneers  we  have  mentioned,  conspicu- 
ous among  them  being  the  Rev.  Titus  Coan,  a 
native  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  New  England, 
who  with  his  young  wife  landed  at  Hilo  in  the 
early  part  of  1835.  He  immediately  took  charge 
of  the  district  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Hawaii, 
covering  a  territory  a  hundred  miles  in  length. 
Horses  in  those  days  were  not  numerous,  nor  had 
the  few  there  been  trained  to  domestic  use,  so  he 
had  to  go  on  foot  through  pathless  forests,  or 
by  canoe  along  streams  winding  through  intricate 
wildernesses,  often  at  great  peril.  During  the  first 
year  he  made  a  complete  circuit  of  the  island,  a 
journey  of  over  three  hundred  miles.  He  con- 


92  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

verted  fifteen  thousand  persons  during  his  life- 
time. 

Rev.  Thomas  Lyman,  who  had  been  in  Hilo  a 
few  years  before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Coan,  lent  his 
assistance  toward  establishing  a  station  at  that 
place,  and  so  great  and  wide-spread  was  the  re- 
vival that  the  natives  flocked  thither  from  all 
parts  of  the  island,  until  their  grass  and  banana 
huts  clustered  as  thick  as  they  could  stand  for  a 
mile  back  from  the  seashore.  Hilo's  population 
increased  from  one  to  ten  thousand  at  once.  This 
big  camp-meeting  continued  for  two  years. 

As  neither  houses  nor  churches  had  seats  at 
that  time,  the  seekers  after  the  baptism  were 
seated  in  long  rows  on  the  ground,  facing  each 
other,  the  missionary  passing  along  between  them, 
sprinkling  their  bowed  heads  on  one  side  and 
then  on  the  other,  until  he  had  gone  the  entire 
length,  when  he  pronounced  these  words :  "  I  now 
proclaim  you  all  baptised  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost."  This  was 
repeated  until  the  last  row  had  been  taken  into 
the  church.  It  is  a  pleasant  fact  to  record  that 
less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  later  these  same 
little  hamlets  had  settled  over  them  ministers 
from  their  own  race,  and  neat  little  wooden  build- 


MISSIONARY   WORK.  93 

ings  had  taken  the  places  of  the  grass  huts  and 
open-air  churches. 

A  thrilling  incident  occurred  during  this  pro- 
tracted revival  which  fixed  itself  indelibly  on  the 
minds  of  the  missionaries,  while  giving  terror 
to  the  hearts  of  the  superstitious  natives.  On 
November  7,  1837,  Mr.  Coan  and  his  colleague 
had  preached  to  audiences  of  from  five  to  seven 
thousand,  four  sermons  as  usual,  and  the  former 
was  just  returning  from  the  funeral  of  a  Hawai- 
ian child,  when,  without  any  previous  warning,  the 
placid  ocean  suddenly  upheaved,  lifting  gigantic 
wave  after  wave  upon  the  shore ;  these,  following 
each  other  with  the  speed  of  race-horses,  swept 
the  coast  for  a  long  distance  back,  carrying  men, 
women,  children,  dogs,  houses,  canoes, — in  short 
everything  movable, — off  on  their  foaming  breasts. 
Wildest  excitement  imaginable  reigned,  the  shrieks 
of  the  hapless  persons  and  creatures  drowned  by 
the  roar  of  the  billows.  It  was  well  then  the 
struggling  people  in  the  embrace  of  the  angry 
elements  belonged  to  an  amphibious  race,  or  many 
more  must  have  been  drowned  than  were.  Still, 
stout  swimmers  were  carried  far  out  to  sea,  and,  in 
spite  of  the  ready  assistance  of  friends  and  des- 
perate efforts  to  escape,  quite  a  number  were  lost. 


94  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

The  crescent-shaped  sand-beach,  with  its  fringe  of 
palms  and  shady  groves  just  beyond,  the  most  beau- 
tiful spot  on  the  island,  was  a  scene  of  ruin  and 
desolation.  Mr.  Coan,  in  speaking  of  the  awful 
event  afterward,  said  that  the  opening  crash 
sounded  as  if  "a  mountain  had  fallen  on  the 
beach." 

Among  those  who  were  converted  by  Mr.  Coan 
was  an  old  man  whose  wife  had  been  dead  some 
time,  and  who  entrusted  to  his  care  a  young  son. 
One  night  after  his  father's  conversion  the  little 
boy  was  awakened  by  the  tears  of  his  aged  rela- 
tive falling  on  his  face.  In  answer  to  his  in- 
quiries, he  was  told  that  the  other  was  weeping 
that  he  must  soon  leave  him  alone  in  the  world. 
Then,  after  this  good  old  man  had  besought  the 
love  and  grace  of  the  new-found  God  for  his  child, 
his  spirit  took  its  flight,  leaving  the  crying  boy 
alone  with  the  silent  body.  The  following  morn- 
ing kind  relatives  took  him  to  live  with  them,  and 
his  father's  remains  were  borne  to  rest  in  one  of 
the  cavern  graves.  At  twelve  years  of  age  this 
boy  for  the  first  time  listened  to  one  of  Mr.  Coan's 
sermons,  was  converted,  and  at  fifteen  was  preach- 
ing the  gospel  in  his  native  tongue.  He  after- 
ward became  a  student  at  the  theological  school  at 


MISSIONARY  WORK.  95 

Honolulu,  and  was  ordained  as  a  minister  October 
3,  1888.  He  helped  translate  the  gospel  hymns 
into  his  native  language.  The  name  of  Samuel 
Kapu  is  now  well  known  as  a  benefactor  among 
his  people.  This  is  but  one  of  many  examples 
of  the  kind. 

July  7,  1827,  Roman  Catholic  missionaries 
arrived  at  Honolulu.  They  were  members  of  the 
"  Congregation  of  the  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and 
Mary."  Through  a  misunderstanding,  trouble  soon 
arose,  and  the  king,  believing  they  were  trying  to 
create  a  division  among  the  people,  ordered  them 
to  leave  the  islands  in  January,  1832.  Seven 
years  later  the  French  government  sent  a  frigate 
to  Honolulu,  and  compelled  Kamehameha  III.  to 
allow  some  Catholic  priests  to  land.  Catholicism 
soon  gained  a  foothold,  and  to-day  there  are  not 
far  from  twenty-five  thousand  belonging  to  that 
church  on  the  islands,  and  in  1898  sixty-two 
churches  and  chapels. 

In  1862  an  English  Reformed  Catholic  mission 
was  sent  to  the  islands,  and,  meeting  with  favour 
from  Kamehameha  IV.,  who  was  not  in  as  much 
sympathy  with  the  Protestants  as  his  predeces- 
sors had  been,  prospered,  and  has  since  attracted 
interest,  and  is  regularly  established. 


96  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

The  entire  number  of  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries sent  to  the  islands,  clerical  and  lay,  with 
their  wives,  has  been  one  hundred  and  fifty-six. 
The  cost  of  these  missions,  up  to  1862,  was  borne 
by  the  American  Board  of  Missions,  when  it  with- 
drew the  financial  support  it  had  been  generously 
giving  the  missionaries  for  forty  years.  Of  the 
several  religious  denominations  which  prevail, 
the  Congregationalists  are  the  most  numerous 
and  powerful.  Besides  these  there  is  an  Epis- 
copal, a  Methodist  Episcopal,  and  a  Christian 
church  in  Honolulu,  and  a  couple  of  Mormon 
churches.  Together  the  Protestants  have  over  a 
hundred  churches  and  a  membership  of  about  forty 
thousand. 

Though  labouring  in  a  field  not  inappropriately 
styled  "Paradise,"  the  early  missionaries  led  de- 
voted and  often  heroic  lives.  They  proved  to  be 
more  than  the  advisers  and  promulgators  of  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  natives,  but  became  their 
temporal  counsellors,  as  well  as  preachers,  and 
helped  to  establish  a  civil  government  capable  of 
protecting  the  acquired  rights  of  the  inhabitants. 
Thus  the  term  missionary  in  Hawaii  is  used  in 
a  broader  sense  than  elsewhere  in  the  world.  The 
first  Kamehameha  laid  the  corner-stone  of  a  con- 


MISSIONARY   WORK.  97 

solidated  government;  his  successor  placed  another 
milestone  on  the  historic  road  when  he  abolished 
the  tabus,  tore  down  the  temples,  and  burned  the 
idols ;  and  above  these  still  smoking  ruins  the  mis- 
sionaries raised  the  finger-board  of  religious  guid- 
ance to  the  people  without  a  god,  teaching  them, 
also  without  lands,  homes  or  family  ties,  that  the 
homestead  was  the  seat  of  prosperity  and  that 
the  home  was  the  highest  kingdom  on  earth. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  rob  them  of  much 
of  the  credit  of  their  work,  and  to  ascribe  selfish 
motives  to  them.  That  they  may  have  erred  in 
minor  matters  is  true,  but  along  the  unswerving 
line  of  human  progress  they  made  a  record  well 
worthy  of  study.  Coming  of  old  Puritan  stock, 
the  missionaries,  perhaps  prematurely,  made  a  de- 
termined effort  to  transplant  New  England  ideas 
of  civilisation  upon  the  indolent,  careless  popula- 
tion of  a  clime  whose  every  influence  was  antago- 
nistic to  active  duties.  Singularly  enough,  their 
most  bitter  enemies  came  not  from  the  people  they 
were  working  to  uplift,  but  from  those  who,  like 
themselves,  were  aliens  in  the  land.  Many  of 
these  were  those  who  fattened  upon  the  harvest 
of  the  spoils  coming  from  that  race  which  fell 
easy  victims  to  the  vices  as  well  as  converts  to 


98  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

the  virtues  of  civilisation.  Whatever  faults  may 
be  found  with  them, — and  if  man  were  created 
perfect  there  would  be  no  calling  for  missionaries, 
—  it  is  certain  that  a  new  era  dawned  upon  the 
island  kingdom  on  that  March  morning  in  1820, 
when  the  little  band  of  New  England  pilgrims 
landed  on  the  shores  of  benighted  Hawaii. 


CHAPTER 

THE   HAWAIIAN   i£AGXA   CHABTA. 

A  \  THAT  EVER  may  be  the  natural  resources  of  a 
country,  or  however  great  its  possibilities,, 
its  progress  in  education  and  government  depends 
in  a  very  considerable  measure  upon  its  political 
influences.  This  part  of  the  history  of  Hawaii 
is  a  checkered  one.  If  there  have  been  no  san- 
guinary wars  of  bloodshed,  there  have  been  stir- 
ring revolutions  and  many  critical  situations  when 
the  fate  of  the  islands  swung  in  the  balance  of  a 
precarious  power.  First  taught  by  American  mis- 
sionaries, and  developed  under  the  influences  of 
v  England  independence,  the  people  naturally 
partook  of  puritanical  and  democratic  ideas  of  gov- 
ernment, tempered  by  the  prevailing  atmosphere  of 
a  tropical  climate. 

is  the  inevitable  fate  of  a  barbaric  race  to 
fall  before  the  civilised  power  entering  its  do- 
mains. The  result  of  civilisation  to  the  Hawai- 
ians,  as  well  meant  as  it  was,  proved  pathetic 

N 


100  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

and  tragical,  bringing  the  desolation  of  empty 
huts  and  deserted  villages  on  hillside  and  in 
valley.  In  a  little  over  a  century  four  hundred 
thousand  simple  people,  strong  in  physique  but 
weak  in  knowledge,  naked  but  not  ashamed,  god- 
less but  without  a  fear,  fell  victims  to  greeds  and 
vices  hitherto  unknown  to  them,  until  less  than 
one-eighth  of  that  number  represented  the  pic- 
turesque race.  Fewer  feet  trod  each  year  the 
silvery  sands  of  the  coral-banded  shores,  less  fre- 
quent and  fainter  have  come  their  soft-spoken  alo- 
has,—  national  greeting,  "love  to  you," — until  it 
seems  that  the  Hawaiian  in  a  few  years  more  will 
live  only  in  the  memory  of  the  Kamehamehas  and 
the  legends  of  a  vanished  day. 

Several  reasons  are  advanced  as  an  excuse  for 
this  decay  of  the  people.  The  gravest  of  them 
has  been  the  charge  of  infanticide.  If  that  charge 
were  true  Hawaii  would  have  been  depopulated  a 
long  time  ago,  according  to  the  evidence  furnished. 
But  before  the  advent  of  the  white  man  the  islands 
were  so  densely  populated  that  artificial  means  had 
to  be  adopted  to  support  the  inhabitants.  Ponds 
were  built  for  the  storing  of  fish,  and  tracts 
enclosed  by  stone  walls  on  the  mountainsides, 
where  families  were  obliged  to  raise  more  than 


NATIVK    SCHKIMI'    CATCHKR. 


THE  HAWAIIAN  MAGNA   CHAETA.  101 

they  needed  for  their  own  consumption  that  they 
might  help  to  feed  others.  Now  these  one-time 
centres  of  life  and  activity  are  scenes  of  solitude. 
The  wild  vine  creeps  over  the  crumbled  wall  and 
the  unapproachable  lantana  covers  the  spot  where 
the  tribal  circle  congregated,  while  the  hills  and 
valleys,  spanned  by  a  line  of  ten  thousand  men 
who  passed  from  hand  to  hand  the  blocks  of  lava 
stone  to  build  one  of  their  temples,  are  now  over- 
grown by  an  impenetrable  Hawaiian  forest.  The 
burdens  of  civilisation  proved  too  heavy  for  the 
sluggish  Hawaiian,  and  he  was  crushed  by  their 
weight. 

A  well-known  missionary,  in  speaking  of  this 
candidly,  said :  "  The  people,  like  all  savages,  proved 
very  susceptible  to  contagious  diseases  and  the  vices 
of  civilisation.  The  measles,  brought  here  from 
California  in  1848,  alone  claimed  one  in  every  ten. 
The  smallpox,  which  also  came  from  California, 
five  years  later,  did  an  equally  awful  work,  in 
spite  of  all  that  could  be  done  to  prevent  it. 
Thus,  disease  after  disease  did  its  dreadful  part, 
until  the  leprosy,  a  legacy  from  China,  added  the 
last  and  most  horrible  chapter  to  the  history  of  the 
doomed  race." 

With  a  greater  devastation  than  that  wrought 


102  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

by  the  epidemics,  from  the  seeds  of  lust  and  drunk- 
enness sown  by  the  white  men  sprang  a  blight 
which  completed  the  desolation  of  the  field.  If  the 
Hawaiian  fell  an  easy  victim  to  the  vices  of  others, 
whose  is  the  blame  ?  But  it  has  been  well  said 
that  he  dies  the  easiest  of  any  mortal.  Let  him 
but  imagine  he  has  any  disease  and  it  amounts  to 
the  same,  fixed  on  his  mind  as  on  his  constitution, 
—  he  dies !  Let  him  think  he  is  being  prayed  to 
death,  and  he  sets  himself  about  to  answer  the 
prayer.  Let  some  malicious  person  but  name  the 
day  of  his  demise,  and  he  did  not  fail  to  respond 
punctually.  He  did  it,  too,  in  the  most  cheerful 
mood,  with  a  song  on  his  lips  and  aloha  in  his 
heart. 

Still  formerly,  if  not  now,  the  Hawaiian  lived  to 
an  age  not  inferior  to  ours,  though  the  youthful- 
ness  of  the  features  and  the  suppleness  of  the 
figure  too  speedily  gave  way  to  the  wrinkled  skin 
in  the  first  case  and  the  fat,  squat  form  in  the 
other.  Until  very  recently  it  was  not  uncommon 
to  meet  individuals  who  remembered  well  the  mas- 
sacre of  Captain  Cook  and  other  as  well  authenti- 
cated incidents  in  history,  which  would  prove  that 
in  the  past  generation  many  lived  to  the  allotted 
three  score  years  and  ten.  Their  simple  mode  of 


THE  HAWAIIAN  MAGNA    CHAETA.  103 

living,  out-of-door  exercise,  freedom  from  care,  the 
calm  of  their  surroundings,  the  favourable  climate, 
all  tended,  barring  accidents  or  unnatural  deeds,  to 
give  them  long  life  and  perfect  health  and  bodies. 
Given  a  grass  hut  for  shelter,  a  pile  of  lauhala 
mats,  calabashes  or  shells  for  dishes  and  cup- 
boards, poi  for  food,  and  the  Hawaiian  lived  and 
dreamed  in  contentment,  happy,  though  he  knew 
it  not,  to  have  escaped  the  unrest  of  civilisation. 
In  the  scenes  to  be  described  this  continually  wan- 
ing influence  of  the  native  element  in  government 
should  be  borne  in  mind. 

As  has  been  shown  in  the  religious  history,  a 
most  despotic  feudal  system  of  land  tenure  had 
existed  in  Hawaii  for  centuries.  The  peasantry, 
common  people,  could  not  be  said  to  have  had  any 
personal  rights.  Upon  Kamehameha's  conquest  the 
most  rigid  application  of  this  principle  was  carried 
out,  which  meant  to  his  defeated  enemies  loss  of 
all  political  power  and  wealth  of  lands,  which  was 
the  basis  of  such  power.  At  first  the  island  of 
Kauai,  through  the  successful  resistance  of  its 
king,  and  then  his  diplomacy  with  the  Conqueror, 
escaped  this  fate ;  but  a  rebellion  instigated  by  his 
son  being  unsuccessful,  the  insurgent  chiefs  were 
subjected  to  a  confiscation  of  their  lands  and  the 


104  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

annihilation  of  their  political  power.  Thus  the 
Conqueror  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  this 
ancient  tenure  for  the  entire  group.  This  fact 
is  borne  out  by  the  land  commission  in  1847, 
which  says  at  opening: 

"When  the  islands  were  conquered  by  Kame- 
hameha  I.  he  followed  the  example  of  his  prede- 
cessors and  divided  the  lands  among  his  principal 
warrior  chiefs,  retaining,  however,  a  portion  in  his 
hands  to  be  cultivated  or  managed  by  his  own 
immediate  servants  or  attendants.  Each  principal 
chief  divided  his  lands  anew,  and  gave  out  to  an 
inferior  order  of  chiefs  or  persons  of  rank,  by 
whom  they  were  subdivided  again  and  again, 
passing  through  the  hands  of  four,  five,  or  six 
persons,  from  the  king  to  the  lowest  class  of 
tenants.  All  these  persons  were  considered  to 
have  rights  in  the  lands  or  productions  of  them. 
The  proportions  of  these  rights  were  not  very 
clearly  defined,  but  were,  nevertheless,  universally 
acknowledged." 

Kamehameha  I.  lived  long  enough  and  ruled 
firm  enough  to  settle  the  matter  favourably  to 
permanent  individual  rights  in  lands.  Upon  be- 
coming king,  Liholiho,  as  Kamehameha  II.,  desired 
to  make  a  redistribution  according  to  custom,  but 


THE  HAWAIIAN  MAGNA    CHARTA.  105 

the  ambitious  Kaahumanu,  with  the  existing  landed 
interests  working  for  her,  defeated  this  scheme,  and 
the  old  distribution  of  land  made  by  the  Conqueror 
in  1795  remained  practically  unchanged,  though 
slightly  modified,  until  1845,  and  during  that  pe- 
riod of  over  forty  years  the  sovereign  held  a  feudal 
authority  over  the  entire  landed  estate  of  the 
kingdom,  though  exercised  with  decreasing  often- 
ness. 

In  1820  Liholiho  moved  his  court  to  Honolulu, 
which  proved  a  wise  course  of  action.  Anxious 
to  broaden  his  ideas  with  those  of  other  powers, 
November  27,  1823,  the  king  and  his  queen  went 
to  England,  where  they  were  courteously  received ; 
but  the  party  was  attacked  with  the  measles  and 
the  king  and  queen  both  died.  The  frigate  Blonde, 
commanded  by  Lord  Byron,  a  cousin  of  the  poet  of 
that  name,  was  commissioned  to  convey  the  re- 
mains of  the  unfortunate  king  and  queen,  with 
their  retinue,  to  their  native  land.  This  ship 
reached  Honolulu  May  6,  1825,  when  the  bodies 
of  the  royal  couple  were  placed  in  a  mausoleum, 
amid  impressive  funeral  ceremonies. 

Kamehameha  II.  having  died  without  naming 
his  successor,  a  young  brother,  Kauikeaouli,  then 
but  ten  years  old,  was  proclaimed  king  under 


106  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

the  title  of  Kamehameha  III.,  while  Kaahumaim 
became  regent  and  prime  minister. 

In  1826  Commodore  Jones  of  the  Peacock 
visited  the  islands  and  concluded  the  first  treaty 
with  the  United  States.  The  following  year  the 
first  written  laws  were  issued  against  theft,  gam- 
bling, adultery,  and  murder. 

June  5,  1832,  Kaahumanu,  who  had  so  long 
been  such  an  important  person  in  the  manage- 
ment of  affairs,  and  who  had  so  persistently  clung 
to  old  traditions  in  some  respects  while  seeking  to 
destroy  others,  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
king's  half-sister  Kinau.  The  king's  minority 
was  declared  to  be  at  an  end  in  March,  1833, 
when  he  assumed  the  head  of  the  government. 
Though  but  a  youth  of  twenty,  he  immediately 
interested  himself  in  public  affairs,  particularly 
toward  the  land  matters.  The  situation  of  the 
common  people  was  now  not  only  defenceless,  but 
pitiable.  Under  the  existing  condition  the  utter- 
ance of  two  Hawaiian  words,  Ua  pau  (thou  art 
dispossessed),  might  take  from  hundreds  of  people, 
innocent  of  any  greater  wrong  than  offending  a 
capricious  land  agent,  their  lands  and  homes.  The 
king  could  not  well  escape  the  growing  responsi- 
bility resting  on  his  shoulders.  The  result  was 


THE  HAWAIIAN  NAGNA    CHARTA.  107 

that,  on  the  7th  day  of  June,  1839,  a  golden  date 
in  Hawaiian  history,  he  proclaimed  the  famous 
Declaration  of  Eights,  the  Magna  Charta  of 
Hawaii,  which  made  his  name  respected.  In  the 
words  of  Sanford  B.  Dole : 

"  This  document,  though  showing  in  its  phrases 
the  influence  of  Anglo-Saxon  principles  of  liberty, 
of  Robert  Burns,  and  the  American  Declaration  of 
Independence,  is  especially  interesting  and  impress- 
ive as  the  Hawaiian  Magna  Charta,  not  wrung 
from  an  unwilling  sovereign  by  force  of  arms,  but 
the  free  surrender  of  despotic  logic  of  events,  by 
the  needs  of  his  people,  and  by  the  principles  of 
the  new  civilisation  that  was  dawning  on  this  land." 

The  Declaration  of  Rights,  which  guaranteed 
religious  liberty  and  formed  the  first  step  toward 
establishing  individual  ownership  of  land,  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  first  written  constitution  on  October 
8,  1840.  A  legislature,  consisting  of  a  House 
of  Hereditary  Nobles,  and  Representatives  to  be 
elected  by  the  people,  was  instituted,  and  provision 
made  for  a  Supreme  Court. 

But,  with  the  rights  of  the  common  people 
undefined,  and  no  precedent  to  be  the  guide  in 
carrying  out  the  professed  principles  of  the  owner- 
ship of  lands,  the  king  was  assailed  on  every  hand 


108  THE  PARADISE   OF   THE  PACIFIC. 

by  storms  of  disputes  and  abuse.  The  English 
and  French  consuls  rivalled  each  other  in  harassing 
him  with  petty  grievances  generally  instigated  by 
themselves. 

In  1839  the  Laplace  episode  took  place,  when 
the  French,  in  the  hope  of  making  an  excuse  to 
seize  the  whole  group  of  islands,  made  unwar- 
ranted demands  on  the  king,  and  as  security  for 
future  good  behaviour  called  for  a  deposit  of 
$20,000.  To  the  chagrin  of  the  French,  American 
merchants  furnished  the  requisite  sum,  and  the 
oppressed  king  was  allowed  a  brief  respite.  That 
year,  in  the  rush  to  get  possession  of  lands,  Messrs. 
Ladd  &  Co.,  of  the  United  States^  the  pioneers  in 
sugar  cultivation,  secured  a  franchise  which  gave 
them  the  privilege  to  lease  for  a  hundred  years 
any  unoccupied  lands  at  a  low  rental.  These 
rights  were  transferred  to  a  Belgian  colonisation, 
and,  though  the  original  party  remained  in  the 
company,  the  king  found  himself  involved  in  diffi- 
culties that  were  thorns  in  Hawaiian  politics  for 
several  years.  The  plots  continuing  to  thicken, 
in  1842,  the  British  consul,  Richard  Charleton, 
took  his  turn  at  trying  to  involve  the  island  gov- 
ernment in  troubles  that  would  give  him  a  pretext 
to  claim  the  islands  in  the  name  of  Great  Britain. 


THE  HAWAIIAN  MAGNA    CHAETA.  109 

He  made  demands  for  lands  that  the  king  con- 
sidered illegal,  and  was  refused.  In  the  midst  of 
this  difficulty,  Sir  George  Simpson,  governor  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  territory,  arrived  at 
the  islands.  He  advised  Kamehameha  III.  to 
send  an  embassy  each  to  the  United  States,  Great 
Britain,  and  France,  to  obtain,  if  possible,  some 
acknowledgment  of  his  sovereignty.  Rev.  Will- 
iam Richards,  formerly  an  American  missionary, 
Sir  George  Simpson,  and  a  native  chief  named 
Haalilio  were  appointed  on  the  first  commission. 
No  sooner  were  these  commissioners  started 
than  Charleton,  leaving  as  deputy  behind  him  a 
nephew  of  Lord  Simpson,  but  with  none  of  the 
other's  honesty,  departed  for  England.  On  his 
way  home  Charleton  met  Lord  George  Paulet, 
captain  of  the  British  frigate  Carysfort,  who  lis- 
tened to  the  consul's  scheme  with  favour,  and 
hastened  at  once  to  the  island  kingdom,  to  make 
demands  he  knew  the  besieged  king  could  not 
meet.  As  an  alternative  he  asked  for  the  im- 
mediate cession  of  the  islands,  or  he  would  de- 
clare war  in  the  name  of  Great  Britain  and  open 
fire  on  the  Hawaiian  capital.  In  this  dilemma 
King  Kamehameha  issued  the  following  pathetic 
proclamation  : 


110  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

"  Where  are  you,  chiefs,  people,  and  commons 
from  my  ancestors,  and  people  from  foreign  lands  ? 

"  Hear  ye  !  I  make  known  to  you  that  I  am  in 
perplexity  by  reason  of  difficulties  into  which  I 
have  been  brought  without  cause,  therefore  I  have 
given  away  the  life  of  our  land.  Hear  ye !  but 
my  rule  over  you,  my  people,  and  your  privileges 
will  continue,  for  I  have  hope  that  the  life  of  the 
land  will  be  restored  when  my  conduct  is  justified. 

"Done  at  Honolulu,  Oahu,  this  25th  day  of 
February,  1843. 

"  KAMEHAMEHA  III. 
u  KEKAULUOHI." 

On  that  same  day  Lord  Paulet  took  formal  pos- 
session of  the  islands,  the  British  flag  was  run  up, 
and  every  Hawaiian  flag  he  could  find  was  des- 
troyed. An  embargo  was  placed  on  every  native 
vessel,  so  the  news  of  the  seizure  could  not  be 
carried  abroad  until  such  a  time  and  in  such  a 
manner  as  he  chose,  and  a  body  of  native  troops 
was  organised.  For  five  months  the  little  king- 
dom was  governed  by  a  mixed  commission  made 
up  of  Lord  Paulet,  Lieutenant  Frere,  Mr.  James 
Mackay,  and  Dr.  G.  P.  Judd,  the  latter  serving 
but  a  short  time. 


THE  HAWAIIAN  MAGNA    CHAETA.  Ill 

Lord  Paulet  was  exulting  over  the  prospect  to 
him  and  his  confederates,  as  soon  as  his  embassy 
should  state  the  situation  from  their  standpoint 
to  the  British  queen.  King  Kamehameha  and  his 
prime  minister,  Princess  Kekauluohi,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  taken  to  the  island  of  Maui  that  they 
might  be  spared  meeting  their  humiliation  face 
to  face.  But  his  interests  were  left  in  the  hands 
of  Dr.  G.  P.  Judd,  who  proved,  with  the  ready 
Yankee  wit  and  daring  of  others,  to  be  a  match 
for  the  scheming  Englishmen. 

At  the  time  the  only  creditable  craft  on  the 
islands  was  the  king's  yacht  Hoikaika  (swift 
runner),  and  this  had  been  chartered  to  the 
American  house,  Messrs.  Ladd  &  Co.,  for  a  voy- 
age to  Mazatland  and  back.  This  craft  had  not 
started,  and  in  order  to  get  possession  of  it,  so  he 
could  send  his  despatch-bearer  to  England  at  once, 
Paulet  offered  the  Americans  the  privilege  of  send- 
ing an  agent  on  the  vessel,  and  also  of  bringing 
back  whatever  freight  they  wished,  if  they 
would  relinquish  their  charter.  By  thus  saving 
the  whole  expense  of  the  trip,  the  offer  was 
quickly  accepted,  without  Lord  Paulet  dreaming 
of  any  secret  purpose  underneath. 

The  truth  was  Doctor  Judd  had  seen  an  oppor- 


112  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

tunity  to  communicate  with  the  United  States  and 
other  governments  without  arousing  suspicion,  but 
in  a  manner  to  outwit  the  plotters.  This  was  to 
make  of  the  commercial  agent  of  Messrs.  Ladd  & 
Co.  a  secret  ambassador  of  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain.  The  American  merchants  were  only 
too  glad  to  help  the  unfortunate  king  in  this  ven- 
ture, and  a  young  merchant  in  Honolulu,  named 
Marshall,  gladly  accepted  the  trust.  Mr.  Charles 
Brewer,  a  merchant  in  Honolulu,  for  whom  young 
Marshall  was  working,  agreed  to  advance  the  nec- 
essary funds  and  take  his  pay  in  firewood,  the  only 
revenue  left  to  the  king. 

In  order  to  be  in  readiness  to  start  properly 
equipped  at  the  word  of  Lord  Paulet,  who  was 
impatient,  and  fitting  out  the  ffoikaika,  which  he 
had  rechristened  "Her  Majesty's  tender  Albert" 
with  all  despatch  possible,  the  Americans  had  to 
act  promptly.  There  was  no  lawyer  on  the  is- 
lands, so  Mr.  Marshall's  credentials  were  copied 
from  the  credentials  of  John  Adams  as  the  first 
American  minister  to  England  and  recorded  in  the 
old  Blue  Book.  Of  course  certain  changes  had  to 
be  made  to  suit  this  case,  and  these  papers  were 
drawn  up  by  Doctor  Judd  and  another  in  the  royal 
tomb  at  Honolulu,  with  a  king's  coffin  for  a  table. 


THE  HAWAIIAN  MAGNA    CHART  A.  113 

This  done,  a  trusty  messenger  was  sent  to  find 
the  king  and  his  premier,  who  signed  the  docu- 
ments at  a  midnight  meeting  on  the  shores  of 
Waikiki.  The  king  then  returned  to  his  rendez- 
vous on  Maui,  while  the  young  minister  plenipo- 
tentiary to  the  court  of  St.  James,  under  the  guise 
of  a  commercial  agent,  went  on  his  important 
errand,  leaving  Lord  Paulet  none  the  wiser  for 
the  secret  work.  The  American  consul  at  Hono- 
lulu also  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to 
send  despatches  to  Washington  by  Marshall,  ap- 
prising the  American  government  of  the  situation 
and  its  true  inwardness. 

The  effort  was  not  in  vain.  The  overgreedy 
Paulet  failed  to  receive  the  support  of  his  govern- 
ment, and  Admiral  Thomas,  being  sent  to  investi- 
gate, settled  the  matter  peacefully.  The  exiled 
king  was  allowed  to  return  to  his  office,  and  on 
November  28th  of  the  same  year  England  and 
France,  in  a  joint  declaration,  not  only  recognised 
the  island  kingdom  as  within  the  pale  of  civilised 
nations,  but  mutually  agreed  "  never  to  take  pos- 
session, neither  directly  nor  under  the  title  of  pro- 
tectorate, nor  under  any  form,  of  any  part  of  the 
territory  of  which  they  are  composed."  To  this 
compact  the  United  States  declined  to  become  a 


114  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

party,  though,  acknowledging  the  independence  of 
Kamehameha's  kingdom. 

Naturally  these  troubles  awakened  an  antipathy 
against  allowing  foreigners  to  acquire  lands,  and 
it  showed  the  king  that  he  needed  an  organised 
government  outside  of  his  royal  house.  It  was 
also  shown  that  a  sound  and  judicious  code  of 
laws  was  needed.  In  1845,  1846,  and  1847  three 
comprehensive  acts  were  carried  into  effect.  The 
first  was  "  to  organise  the  executive  ministry  of 
the  Hawaiian  Islands ; "  the  second,  "  to  organ- 
ise the  executive  department  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands ; "  and  the  third  to  organise  the  judiciary 
department  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands."  In  1846 
the  first  volume  of  statute  laws  was  issued. 

From  the  councils  of  the  above  named  bodies 
with  the  king  and  his  chiefs,  it  was  decided  that 
the  king  should  hold  his  private  lands  as  his 
individual  property,  to  descend  to  his  heirs  and 
successors ;  the  balance  to  be  divided  equally 
between  the  chiefs  and  the  common  people.  This 
division  required  that  the  chiefs  who  had  held  the 
land  with  the  kings  and  the  tenants  should  sur- 
render one-third  of  their  rights,  or  pay  a  certain 
sum  of  money.  When  the  settlement  between 
the  king  and  the  chiefs  had  been  accomplished, 


THE  HAWAIIAN  MAGNA    CHAETA.  115 

he  again  divided  the  lands  which  had  been  sur- 
rendered to  him  between  himself  and  the  gov- 
ernment, the  former  being  known  as  Crown  lands 
and  the  latter  as  Government  lands. 

The  first  mdhele  (division  of  land)  was  made 
January  27,  1848.  The  great  land  reform,  fully 
accomplished,  showed  great  improvement  in  the 
condition  of  the  common  people.  Education  be- 
gan to  receive  its  deserved  attention  ;  the  masses 
felt  the  first  impetus  of  industry;  the  kingdom 
quickly  assumed  a  more  important  position  in  the 
judgment  of  other  nations  ;  foreign  immigration 
outside  of  the  missionaries  flocked  hither,  and 
business  enterprises  at  once  became  assured  suc- 
cesses. Kamehameha  III.  lived  six  years  after 
the  culmination  of  his  humane  plans,  so  that  he 
saw  the  great  benefits  resulting  from  his  sagacious 
course  of  action. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

KISE    OF    THE    REPUBLIC. 

A  It  7HILE  few,  if  any,  doubted  the  sincerity  of 
the  king  in  the  distribution  of  land,  the 
larger  percentage  was  retained  by  him  and  his 
nobles.  Out  of  the  four  million  acres1  compris- 
ing the  area  of  the  islands  two  million  fell  to  him. 
Of  this  he  surrendered  one  million  to  the  govern- 
ment, thus  holding  one  million,  or  one-fourth  of 
the  whole,  as  his  own  portion.  The  comparison  in 
value,  however,  was  more  favourable  to  the  com- 
mon people.  The  lowlands  adjacent  to  the  sea, 
which  were  better  adapted  to  raising  their  princi- 
pal crops,  taro  and  rice,  and  which  rapidly  rose  in 
valuation,  were  allowed  them,  while  the  king  and 
his  chiefs  held  large  tracts  on  the  mountainsides, 
suitable  only  for  hunting  and  pasturage,  in  some 
cases  well  wooded,  but  often  barren  and  worthless. 

1More  recent  surveys  make  the  actual  area  of  the  islands  as 
four  million  and  eight  hundred  thousand  acres. 

116 


RISE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  117 

Fee  simple  titles  were  given  the  people  for  build- 
ing lots  and  lands  they  had  actually  cultivated 
for  themselves,  and  known  as  kuleanas  or  home- 
steads. 

In  this  distribution,  as  well  as  in  the  work  lead- 
ing to  it,  the  missionaries  had  much  to  do,  and 
they  were  now  blamed  by  some  for  not  getting 
better  consideration  for  the  masses.  Others  stoutly 
praised  them  for  having  accomplished  so  much, 
and  from  this  division  of  sentiment,  no  doubt 
often  prejudiced,  sprang  two  political  parties  des- 
tined to  act  important  parts  in  the  future  of 
Hawaii,  two  parties,  both  seeking  the  favours 
of  the  kings,  as  long  as  the  kingdom  lasted,  but 
with  diverse  objects :  one  intent  on  maintaining 
and  strengthening  the  royal  power ;  the  other  to 
so  mould  it  that  the  island  government  should 
eventually  become  an  integral  part  of  their  home 
land,  the  United  States. 

In  1852  the  constitution  was  formed  on  more 
liberal  lines,  and  the  representatives  of  the  people 
made  to  be  elected  by  universal  suffrage.  The  fol- 
lowing year  was  made  memorable  by  the  ravages 
of  smallpox,  which  carried  off  several  thousands  of 
the  native  inhabitants  of  Oahu. 

Kamehameha  III.  died  suddenly  December  15, 


118  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

1854,  while  lie  was  undertaking  an  annexation 
treaty  with  the  United  States.  He  was  succeeded 
January  11,  1855,  by  his  adopted  son  and  heir, 
Alexander  Liholiho,  who  was  proclaimed  king 
under  the  title  of  Kamehameha  IV.  This  king 
married  the  chiefess  Emma  Rooke,  a  granddaugh- 
ter of  John  Young,  the  Englishman  who  figured 
so  prominently  in  Kamehameha  the  First's  con- 
quest, and  who  married  a  Hawaiian  woman.  The 
reign  of  Kamehameha  IV.,  which  lasted  until  his 
death,  November  30,  1863,  was  comparatively 
uneventful.  In  1857  the  fort  at  Honolulu  was 
demolished  by  order  of  the  government,  as  that  at 
Lahaina  had  been  in  1854.  The  same  year  John 
Young  (Koni  Ana)  died.  He  had  been  kuhina  nui 
(premier)  since  1845.  In  1859  the  civil  code  was 
published,  and  in  1860  legal  steps  were  taken 
to  establish  houses  of  prostitution,  the  "  law  to 
mitigate,"  etc.,  becoming  a  law. 

Kamehameha  IV.  died  November  30,  1863,  in 
his  thirtieth  year,  and  his  elder  brother  Lot  be- 
came ruler  as  Kamehameha  V.  Almost  the  first 
thing  this  monarch  did  was  to  call  a  convention, 
May  5,  1864,  to  amend  the  constitution.  August 
13th  the  old  constitution  was  abrogated  and  the 
20th  a  new  one  granted  by  the  king.  One  of 


QUEEX    EMMA. 


RISE  OF  THE  EEPUBLIC.  119 

his  most  important  changes  was  to  allow  the  right 
of  suffrage  only  to  those  who  could  read  and  write 
and  had  some  property.  During  his  reign  the 
Board  of  Education  was  formed,  the  Board  of 
Immigration  instituted,  and  in  1865  an  act  passed 
the  Legislature  to  segregate  the  lepers.  The  king 
died  suddenly  December  11,  1872,  the  last  of  the 
line  of  Kamehamehas.  His  reign  was  saddened 
and  his  own  end  hastened  by  the  death  of  his 
only  son,  Prince  of  Hawaii,  August  27,  1862,  at 
the  age  of  four  years.  In  his  grief  over  the 
untimely  death  of  his  young  son,  and  seeing 
the  end  of  the  Kamehameha  dynasty,  the  king 
exclaimed : 

"What  is  to  become  of  my  poor  country?  Queen 
Emma  I  do  not  trust ;  Lunalilo  is  a  drunkard,  and 
Kalakaua  is  a  fool." 

Under  his  rule  the  old-time  paganism  was  to  a 
considerable  extent  restored,  and  its  wild  revels 
revived.  Seeking  the  favour  of  the  native  popu- 
lation, but  not  to  the  neglect  of  the  foreign  ele- 
ment, his  influence  was  not  always  for  the  good 
of  the  kingdom,  and  his  reign  marked  a  period 
of  much  evil  growth,  as  well  as  some  good. 

Kamehameha  Y.  possessed  more  of  the  traits  of 
the  old  chiefs  than  his  predecessor.  He  had  made 


120  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

a  very  good  record  as  a  government  officer  before 
coming  to  the  throne.  He  had  a  strong  will,  and 
used  it  as  he  thought  best  for  his  people.  He 
called  able  men  to  aid  him.  Unfortunately,  he 
also  leant  toward  the  old  customs. 

Dying  without  naming  a  successor,  this  king 
was  succeeded  by  his  cousin,  William  Lunalilo, 
chosen  by  the  Legislature,  January  8,  1873. 
Lunalilo's  reign  was  short  and  stormy,  though 
the  latter  fact  rose  from  no  real  fault  of  his. 
The  enforcement  of  the  leper  law,  passed  under 
the  previous  administration,  agitation  of  the  ced- 
ing of  Pearl  Harbour  to  the  United  States  in  con- 
sideration of  a  treaty  of  reciprocity,  with  other 
acts,  aroused  the  anti-missionary  party  to  make  the 
claim  that  he  was  against  the  native  inhabitants. 
He  died  of  consumption  February  3, 1874,  in  the 
midst  of  the  bitter  political  antagonism,  leaving 
the  bulk  of  his  estate  to  establish  the  Lunalilo 
Home  for  aged  and  indigent  Hawaiians. 

Lunalilo's  successor  was  elected  February  12, 
1874,  by  the  Legislature,  which  chose  one  who 
had  been  his  rival  before,  David  Kalakaua.  The 
new  king  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Liloa,  among 
the  foremost  of  Hawaii's  great  family  of  warriors 
before  the  days  of  the  Kamehameha.  It  was 


KING    KALAKAUA. 


EISE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  121 

largely  due,  in  fact,  to  this  king's  assistance  that 
the  Conqueror  was  successful  in  his  conquest.. 
Kalakaua's  queen  was  a  granddaughter  of  the 
last  independent  sovereign  of  Kauai,  so  the  couple 
represented  the  last  of  two  great  lines  of  royalty. 
But  if  he  was  of  noble  birth  he  was  of  ignoble 
character.  It  was  claimed  that  he  had  obtained 
his  election  over  the  Queen-dowager  Emma  by  dis- 
honest means,  and  his  election  was  followed  by  a 
riot,  which  was  put  down  by  a  body  of  marines 
from  the  United  States  ships  Tuscarora  and 
Portsmouth  and  H.  B.  M.  ship  Tenedos. 

Kalakaua  before  his  election  had  appealed  to 
race  prejudice,  and  now,  like  Kamehameha  V., 
seemed  to  consider  only  the  interests  of  the 
native  Hawaiians,  and  to  look  on  foreign  resi- 
dents as  alien  invaders.  Under  "him  no  foreigner 
could  be  naturalised  without  his  consent  or  ap- 
proval. He  constantly  sought  to  change  the  sys- 
tem of  government  into  a  personal  despotism,  that 
he  might  command  the  treasury.  He  filled  the 
Legislature  with  pliant  office-holders,  and  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  resort  to  any  measure,  however 
questionable,  to  carry  his  end.  The  Louisiana 
Lottery  found  in  him  a  friend,  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  efforts  of  men  of  great  influence,  to 


122  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

whom  he  was  owing  money,  he  would  have  pressed 
the  bill  through  the  Legislature  in  spite  of  public 
indignation. 

There  was  one  act,  however,  to  which  he  was 
forced  to  lend  his  acquiescence.  In  June,  1875, 
the  much-talked-of  treaty  of  commercial  reciprocity 
between  -the  islands  and  the  United  States  was  rati- 
fied, in  spite  of  intense  opposition  in  both  countries. 
Going  into  effect  in  September,  1876,  the  result 
was  a  surprise  on  all  sides,  and  from  that  time 
Hawaii  dates  the  dawn  of  its  prosperity.  One  of 
the  stipulations  of  this  treaty  was  the  ceding  of 
Pearl  Harbour,  situated  on  a  small  river  by  that 
name  seven  miles  from  Honolulu,  to  the  United 
States  as  a  naval  and  coaling  station.  This  place 
offers  the  strongest  strategical  points  "  and  the 
finest  site  for  A  naval  and  coaling  station  in 
the  whole  Pacific,"  concerning  which  the  London 
Times,  in  its  alarm  over  the  growing  prestige  of 
the  United  States  in  Hawaii,  declared,  in  an  appeal 
to  Great  Britain:  "The  maritime  power  that  holds 
Pearl  River,  and  moors  its  fleets  there,  possesses 
the  key  to  the  Northern  Pacific." 

Leaving  Honolulu  January  20, 1881,  and  return- 
ing October  27th,  King  Kalakaua  made  a  tour  of 
the  world,  visiting  Japan,  China,  Siam,  British 


BANANA    BLOSSOM    AND    FRUIT. 


EISE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  123 

India,  the  principal  countries  of  Europe,  and  the 
United  States. 

A  crisis  in  the  government  of  King  Kalakaua 
came  when  he  accepted  two  bribes,  aggregating 
over  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  in  con- 
nection with  an  opium  license.  This  act  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  revolution  of  1887.  In  the  previous 
seven  years  the  debt  of  the  government  had 
increased  from  three  hundred  and  ninety  thou- 
sand to  almost  two  million  dollars.  Deserted  now 
by  his  followers,  and  appealing  in  vain  to  other 
nations  for  assistance,  the  king  yielded  to  the 
unanimous  demands  of  the  opponents  of  his  sys- 
tem of  royalty,  and  July  7,  1887,  he  signed  a  con- 
stitution which  was  a  revision  and  improvement 
over  that  of  1864.  This  was  framed  to  make 
the  executive  responsible  to  the  people  and  to  end 
personal  government.  Office-holders  were  debarred 
from  seats  in  the  Legislature,  and  nobles,  instead 
of  being  appointed  by  the  king,  were  to  be  elected 
by  the  people  for  a  term  of  six  years.  The  voters 
must  be  owners  of  property  to  the  value  of  three 
thousand  dollars,  or  have  an  income  of  six  hun- 
dred dollars.  Though  this  constitution  was  a 
rather  peculiar  combination  of  republican  and 
monarchical  ideas,  engrafted  on  a  kingly  power, 


124  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

better  results  were  likely  to  come  from  it  than 
had  been  given  the  inhabitants.  Smarting  under 
the  rebuke,  the  royal  party  resorted  to  an  insur- 
rection, but  it  was  soon  put  down,  though  not 
without  the  loss  of  seven  lives  of  the  rioters. 

The  debauchery  of  the  king  was  telling  on  him, 
and  in  November,  1890,  he  went  to  California  for 
his  health.  The  best  medical  aid  failed  to  help 
him  and  he  died  January  20,  1891,  his  remains 
being  taken  to  Honolulu  in  the  U.  S.  S.  Charleston, 
arriving  there  the  29th  of  the  same  month.  A  few 
hours  after  the  arrival  of  the  body  of  the  dead  king 
his  sister  took  the  oath  to  support  the  constitution, 
and  was  officially  announced  as  queen,  with  the 
title  of  Liliuokalani. 

Notwithstanding  the  misgovernment  of  a  dissi- 
pated and  selfish-minded  king,  the  reign  of  Kala- 
kaua  were  the  golden  years  of  Hawaiian  progress 
and  prosperity,  though  paid  for  in  the  end  at  a 
high  price.  Naturally,  the  profligate  management 
brought  a  collapse  in  business  matters,  the  gov- 
ernment became  deeply  involved  in  debt,  and  the 
control  of  public  affairs  largely  in  the  hands  of 
scheming  and  antagonistic  politicians.  The  peo- 
ple generally  understood  their  grave  situation, 
but  both  parties  looked  hopefully  forward  to 


RISE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  125 

good  results  from  Queen  Liliuokalani.  She  had 
been  reared  and  educated  under  American  mis- 
sionary influence,  which  gave  those  who  had  the 
interest  of  the  struggling  masses  at  heart  reason 
to  believe  she  would  be  their  friend.  Her  hus- 
band was  John  0.  Dominis,  whose  paternal  ances- 
tors were  from  Italy,  but  whose  mother  was  an 
American  woman — a  native  of  Boston  —  with 
an  English  ancestry.  He  was  governor  of  Maui 
and  Hawaii,  and  his  influence  was  expected  to  be 
thrown  in  the  interest  of  good  government. 

Unfortunately,  Governor  Dominis,  who  was  made 
prince  consort,  who  had  been  in  poor  health  at  the 
tune  of  her  coronation,  died  the  following  27th  of 
August,  and  was  buried  with  royal  honours.  Had 
he  lived,  a  different  result  might  have  been  the 
outcome  of  the  situation.  A  more  far-seeing  policy 
and  firmness  of  purpose  was  required  to  manage 
affairs  successfully  than  the  queen  possessed.  In 
her  desperation  to  raise  money,  instead  of  cutting 
down  some  of  the  enormous  expenses  incurred, 
she  listened  to  the  advice  of  unsafe  and  unscru- 
pulous counsellors,  and  resorted  to  such  means 
as  were  offered  by  lottery  managers  and  opium 
smugglers. 

The  Kamehamehas  had,  as  a  rule,  selected  their 


126  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

advisers  from  the  ablest  men  of  the  different  par- 
ties and  races,  while  hers,  either  from  mistaken 
judgment  or  evil  influences,  were  men  who  seldom 
worked  harmoniously  together  either  for  the  inter- 
est of  the  public  or  her.  The  Legislature  now 
held,  according  to  the  constitution  of  1887,  the 
right  to  form  the  cabinets,  with  her  consent,  while 
she  claimed  the  first  rights,  and  the  long  session  of 
1892  was  made  memorable  for  its  changes  in  min- 
istries, as  many  as  four  having  been  selected  and 
discharged.  It  was  during  this  troublesome  period 
that  what  became  known  as  the  Wilcox- Jones 
cabinet  was  formed,  which,  if  allowed  to  remain, 
might  have  settled  some  of  the  threatening  ques- 
tions peacefully.  But  this  was  forced  to  give 
way  in  the  midst  of  its  efforts  to  another  body 
of  advisers,  when  the  Legislature  was  prorogued 
by  the  queen,  and  the  odious  lottery  and  opium 
bills  signed  at  once.  From  the  first  of  these  the 
islands  were  to  derive  great  benefit  by  way  of  per- 
manent improvements,  and  the  latter  was  a  license 
to  allow  in  the  market  that  article,  which,  with 
a  population  of  over  twenty  thousand  addicted 
to  its  use,  had  become  a  commodity  dangerous  to 
handle.  It  was  already  being  smuggled  into  the 
islands  against  the  law,  and  it  was  claimed  by 


QUEEN    LILIUOKALANI. 


OF  THE  EE PUB LIC.  127 

the  supporters  of  the  measure  that  it  was  better  to 
attempt  to  regulate  an  evil  than  to  make  laws  that 
would  be  broken.  The  opposing  party  had  strong 
grounds  for  complaint,  and  both  bills  presented 
grave  phases. 

A  change  in  the  constitution,  or  a  new  one 
entire,  eliminating  all  republican  ideas  and  tend- 
ing to  strengthen  the  monarchy,  was  advocated  by 
the  royalists.  Drafts,  varying  somewhat  in  their 
essentials,  were  drawn  up  by  the  queen's  advisers, 
one  of  which  was  accepted  by  her.  Dissatisfied 
and  at  odds  with  the  Legislature,  she  prorogued 
that  body  January  14,  1893,  and  retired  to  the 
palace  with  the  intention  of  proclaiming  the  new 
constitution,  escorted  on  her  way  by  the  Hawai- 
ian society  Hui  Kalaiaina.  A  crowd  had  now 
assembled  about  the  grounds,  the  queen's  guard 
being  drawn  up  in  a  line  from  the  west  gate  to 
the  steps  of  the  palace. 

The  queen  summoned  her  Cabinet  to  the  Blue 
Room  for  their  signatures  to  the  document.  But 
they  did  not  come  until  she  was  worn  out  wait- 
ing. Then,  one  of  them  having  consulted  during 
the  delay  the  leaders  of  the  opposing  party,  they 
demurred.  She  entreated,  claiming  that  they  had 
led  her  to  the  brink  of  the  precipice  to  desert  her 


128  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

at  the  critical  moment.  In  their  desperation,  all 
but  one  fled,  and  he  persuaded  her  to  postpone  her 
action  for  two  weeks. 

The  queen's  action  declared  revolutionary  by 
her  opponents,  they  met  and  chose  a  Committee 
of  Safety,  with  the  view  of  forming  "a  provi- 
sional government."  Mr.  John  L.  Stevens,  the 
American  minister,  was  asked  to  land  armed 
troops  from  the  war-vessel  Boston  in  their  de- 
fence. He  refused  to  do  this,  but  he  did  order 
armed  men  from  the  war-ship  to  protect  American 
interests  in  the  threatened  trouble. 

This  action  was  accepted  by  the  royalists  to 
mean  interposition  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  government,  when  excitement  ran  higher 
than  ever. 

The  revolutionists  now  resolved  to  set  up  a  new 
government,  and  on  Tuesday,  January  17,  1893, 
the  leaders  issued  from  the  Government  Build- 
ing a  proclamation  which  declared  the  Hawaiian 
monarchy  abrogated,  and  ended  by  saying : 

"1.  The  Hawaiian  monarchical  system  of  gov- 
ernment is  hereby  abrogated. 

"  2.  A  provisional  government  for  the  control 
and  management  of  public  affairs  and  the  protec- 


RISE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  129 

tion  of  the  public  peace  is  hereby  established,  to 
exist  until  terms  of  union  with  the  United  States 
of  America  have  been  negotiated  and  agreed  upon. 

"  3.  Such  provisional  government  shall  consist 
of  an  executive  council  of  four  members,  who  are 
declared  to  be  S.  B.  Dole,  J.  A.  King,  P.  C.  Jones, 
W.  0.  Smith,  who  shall  administer  the  executive 
departments  of  the  government,  the  first  named 
acting  as  president  and  chairman  of  such  coun- 
cil and  administering  the  department  of  foreign 
affairs,  and  the  others  severally  administering  the 
departments  of  interior,  finance,  and  attorney-gen- 
eral, respectively,  in  the  order  in  which  they  are 
above  enumerated,  according  to  existing  Hawaiian 
law  as  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  this  proclama- 
tion ;  and  also  of  an  advisory  council  which  shall 
consist  of  fourteen  members,  who  are  hereby  de- 
clared to  be  S.  M.  Damon,  A.  Brown,  L.  A. 
Thurston,  J.  F.  Morgan,  J.  Emmeluth,  H.  Water- 
house,  J.  A.  McChandless,  E.  D.  Tenney,  F.  W. 
McChesney,  F.  Wilhelm,  W.  R.  Castle,  W.  G. 
Ashley,  W.  C.  Wilder,  C.  Bolte.  Such  advisory 
council  shall  also  have  general  legislative  authority. 

"  Such  executive  and  advisory  councils  shall, 
acting  jointly,  have  power  to  remove  any  member 
of  either  council  and  to  fill  any  such  vacancy. 


130  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

"  4.  All  officers  under  the  existing  government 
are  hereby  requested  to  continue  to  exercise  their 
functions  and  perform  the  duties  of  the  offices, 
with  the  exception  of  the  following  named  per- 
sons: Queen  Liliuokalani ;  Charles  B.  Wilson,  Mar- 
shal; Samuel  Parker,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs; 
W.  H.  Corn  well,  Minister  of  Finance;  John  F.  Col- 
burn,  Minister  of  the  Interior;  Arthur  P.  Peterson, 
Attorney-General,  who  are  hereby  removed  from 
office. 

"  5.  All  Hawaiian  laws  and  constitutional  prin- 
ciples not  inconsistent  herewith  shall  continue  to 
be  in  force  until  further  order  of  the  executive  and 
advisory  councils. 

"  (Signed)  HENRY  E.  COOPER,  Chairman." 

And  twelve  others  as  the  Committee  of  Safety, 
and  dated  Honolulu,  January  17,  1893. 

The  overthrown  queen,  deserted  by  her  minis- 
try, and  her  guard  quartered  at  the  police  station, 
had  to  remain  inactive.  At  6  P.  M.  the  following 
protest  was  signed  by  her : 

"  I,  Liliuokalani,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  under 
the  constitution  of  the  Hawaiian  kingdom  queen, 
do  hereby  solemnly  protest  against  any  and  all 


RISE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  131 

acts  done  against  myself  and  the  constitutional 
government  of  the  Hawaiian  kingdom  by  certain 
persons  claiming  to  have  established  Provisional 
Government  of  and  for  this  kingdom. 

"  That  I  yield  to  the  superior  force  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  whose  minister  plenipotentiary, 
his  Excellency  John  L.  Stevens,  has  caused  United 
States  troops  to  be  landed  at  Honolulu,  and  de- 
clared that  he  would  support  the  said  Provisional 
Government. 

"Now,  to  avoid  any  collision  of  armed  forces, 
and  perhaps  the  loss  of  life,  I  do,  under  this  pro- 
test and  impelled  by  said  forces,  yield  my  authority 
until  such  time  as  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  shall,  upon  the  facts  being  presented  to  it, 
undo  (?)  the  action  of  its  representative,  and  rein- 
state me  in  the  authority  as  the  constitutional 
sovereign  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

"  Done  at  Honolulu  this  seventeenth  day  of 
January,  A.  D.  1893. 

"  (Signed)  LILIUOKALANI  R. 

"  SAMUEL  PARKER,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

"  WM.  H.  CORNWELL,  Minister  of  Finance. 

"  JOHN  F.  COLBURN,  Minister  of  Interior. 

"  A.  P.  PETERSON,  Attorney- General. 

"(Addressed)    S.    B.   Dole,   Esq..,   and    others 


132  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

composing    the    Provisional    Government    of    the 
Hawaiian  Islands." 

The  queen  sent  a  letter  to  the  marshal  of  the 
kingdom  ordering  him  to  deliver  over  everything 
to  the  Provisional  Government,  and  the  next  day 
she  retired  to  Washington  Place.  The  revolution 
had  been  accomplished  without  resorting  to  arms, 
and  the  new  government  was  duly  installed.  A 
convention  was  chosen  that  sat  in  Honolulu  during 
the  month  of  June,  1894,  when  a  new  constitution 
was  framed,  and  on  July  4th,  a  memorable  date 
to  every  American  purposely  selected  for  this 
occasion,  the  Republic  of  Hawaii  was  formally 
announced  to  the  political  powers  of  the  day, 
with  Sanford  B.  Dole  as  president. 

In  summing  up  the  causes  and  results  of  this 
revolution  it  is  easy  to  find  reason  for  blame  on 
all  sides,  but  the  weight  of  the  evidence  seems  to 
be  against  the  upholders  of  the  monarchy.  That 
the  policy  of  the  queen  was  short-sighted  and  reac- 
tionary was  evident;  that  she  was  stubborn  in 
her  determination  to  restore  certain  monarchical 
rights  is  beyond  question ;  the  constitution  she 
would  have  promulgated  in  its  full  intentions,  as 
offered,  would  have  disfranchised  every  white  man 


RISE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  133 

on  the  islands  unless  the  husband  of  a  Hawaiian 
woman,  and  would  have  made  the  property  of  the 
whites  alone  subject  to  taxation.  In  her  exten- 
uation it  may  be  said  that  she  had  been  driven  to 
desperate  measures  by  aliens  who  cared  little  for 
the  interests  of  the  native  population,  and  who 
had  no  love  for  the  monarchy  however  well 
managed.  One  of  the  most  earnest  of  the 
revolutionists,  four  years  before  was  defending 
the  Hawaiian  monarchy  in  the  legislature  in 
glowing  rhetoric  and  denouncing  those  who  were 
advocating  annexation  as  traitors.  The  republic 
established,  and  not  getting  what  he  had  expected, 
he  was  anxious  to  return  to  the  old  form  of  gov- 
ernment with  Kaiulani  as  queen  and  himself  as 
premier.  But  such  examples  need  not  be  multi- 
plied. The  Americans  were  naturally  in  favour 
of  annexation  from  the  beginning,  and  the  mis- 
sionaries were  the  moulders  of  Hawaiian  destiny. 
That  the  greatest  step  had  been  made  without 
bloodshed  is  glory  enough,  not  only  for  them  but 
for  the  overruled  majority  which  accepted  the 
inevitable  so  graciously. 


CHAPTER   X. 

INDUSTRIAL    PROGRESS. 

A  HALO  of  romance  tinges  the  atmosphere  of 
•^~**  Hawaiian  history  whither  one  turns.  He 
finds  it  in  the  story  of  their  discovery,  in  the 
traditions  of  their  early  races,  in  their  wars  and 
conquests,  in  their  religious  affairs,  in  their  revo- 
lutions and  growth  of  government,  and,  last  but 
not  least,  in  their  educational  and  industrial 
progress. 

If  the  American  missionaries  were  teaching  the 
masses  the  way  to  a  higher  civilisation,  dotting 
the  seashores,  hillsides,  and  valleys  with  churches, 
schoolhouses,  and  comfortable  dwellings,  American 
business  men  were  soon  establishing  enterprises  of 
agriculture  and  manufacture  hitherto  undreamed 
of  by  the  indolent,  improvident  Hawaiian. 

As  early  as  1786,  only  eight  years  after  their 
discovery  by  Captain  Cook,  Joseph  Burrell,  a 
merchant  of  Boston,  Mass.,  conceived  the  idea  of 
the  value  of  trade  with  the  islands,  and  a  stock 
company  was  formed  with  a  capital  of  fifty  thou- 

134 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS.  135 

sand  dollars.  The  plan  was  to  obtain  by  barter 
with  the  natives  of  the  northwestern  coast  of 
North  America  the  furs  and  other  products  of 
that  country,  and  from  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
sandalwood,  cocoanut  oil,  and  any  other  product 
the  newly  discovered  islands  afforded.  The  proj- 
ect was  reasonably  successful,  and  the  returning 
ships  have  the  credit  of  bringing  to  Boston  the 
first  Hawaiian  chief  to  visit  this  country.  The 
traffic  in  sandalwood  soon  became  of  considerable 
importance,  and  was  a  source  of  great  profit  to 
those  engaged  in  it.  This  wood,  as  has  been 
mentioned,  was  largely  taken  to  China  for  a 
market,  where  it  was  exchanged  for  teas,  silks, 
and  other  articles  from  that  land. 

A  Boston  vessel,  in  1803,  landing  at  Hilo  on 
January  23d,  carried  to  the  islands  the  first  horse 
the  natives  had  ever  seen,  and  the  animal,  one  of 
the  highest  prizes  to  their  descendants,  was  an 
object  of  wonder  to  them.  Others  were  desired, 
and  several  were  sent  from  California,  then  a 
Spanish  province,  until  the  islands  were  stocked 
with  this  useful  quadruped.  Still  it  was  many 
years  before  they  became  thoroughly  domesticated 
and  the  Hawaiian  came  to  consider  himself  at  his 
best  astride  of  one  of  them. 


136  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

As  soon  as  the  supply  of  sandalwood  was  ex- 
hausted, a  trade  in  pearls  and  pearl-shells  followed, 
Hawaii  proving  by  this  time  a  ready  market  for 
cloths  of  several  kinds,  and  hardware  such  as  nails 
and  small  articles  of  iron. 

Whale  fisheries  in  the  Pacific  next  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  thrifty  Yankees,  and  in  1820  the 
ship  Mary,  commanded  by  Captain  Allen,  entered 
the  harbour  of  Honolulu.  This  industry  immedi- 
ately receiving  an  impetus,  other  vessels  soon 
followed,  until  as  many  as  a  hundred  vessels 
would  put  into  the  harbours  at  this  port  and 
Lahaina,  Maui,  in  a  single  season,  and  the  furnish- 
ing of  the  supplies  for  them  became  the  chief 
source  of  profit  to  the  islanders.  Quite  a  number 
of  English  whalers,  and  a  few  French,  found  their 
way  to  these  ports.  But  all  that  these  vessels 
brought  was  not  desirable,  for  they  were  the 
means  of  introducing  such  pests  as  mosquitoes  and 
scorpions,  all  of  which  thrive  in  this  ocean  para- 
dise with  wonderful  vitality. 

In  1823  a  Boston  ship  named  Paragon  bore  to 
the  islands  as  second  officer  one  whose  name  was 
to  become  connected  with  the  ruling  family  in 
after  years.  He  was  John  Dominis,  whose  son, 
John  0.  Dominis,  was  the  husband  and  prince 


QUEEN    LILIUOKALANI. 


INDUSTRIAL   PROGRESS.  137 

consort  of  Queen  Liliuokalani,  the  last  of  the 
royal  rulers.  Among  the  crew  of  this  ship  was 
Charles  Brewer,  who  afterward  became  a  promi- 
nent Hawaiian  merchant,  whose  house  is  still  well 
known  both  in  that  land  and  the  United  States. 

The  whale  fisheries  declining  in  1860-1870,  the 
energetic  mind  of  the  New  Englander  again  turned 
into  another  channel,  and  the  sugar  industry  was 
the  result.  This  plant  was  found  growing  wild  in 
every  valley  visited  by  Cook  and  Vancouver,  and 
excited  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  every  visitor 
on  account  of  its  astonishing  growth  and  remark- 
able sweetness.  The  Hawaiians  had  made  it  a 
common  article  of  food  and  cultivated  it  in  their 
simple  manner.  The  Chinese  saw  something  of 
its  possibilities  and  attempted  to  make  both  sugar 
and  molasses  from  it.  Their  primitive  methods 
were  succeeded  in  1835  by  the  first  successful 
efforts,  when  the  American  firm  of  Ladd  &  Co. 
obtained  possession  of  a  tract  of  land  in  the  Koloa 
district  on  the  island  of  Kauai,  and  in  1837 
erected  the  first  iron  sugar  mill  seen  on  the  group. 
This  was  a  crude  affair  compared  to  the  modern 
machinery,  and  was  propelled  first  by  mules  and 
oxen,  then  by  water,  and  finally  by  steam  power. 
The  cane  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  was  soon  found 


138  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

to  yield  more  per  acre  than  in  any  other  land  in 
the  world.  Thus  it  became  a  source  of  great  profit 
to  the  wealthy  producer,  and  gigantic  enterprises 
have  sprung  up,  among  which  is  the  American 
Sugar  Company's  plantation  on  the  fertile  plains 
of  Central  Maui,  said  to  be  the  largest  in  existence. 
The  business  requires  expensive  machinery,  and  too 
extensive  capital  for  the  small  investor  to  live  by  it. 

The  coffee  industry  gained  its  supporters,  and 
in  1845  two  hundred  and  forty-eight  pounds  of 
this  berry  was  exported.  For  years  it  was  believed 
that  this  shrub  would  only  grow  in  a  small  terri- 
tory in  the  Kona  district,  Hawaii.  But  in  the 
famous  Olaa  district,  on  the  same  island,  large 
coffee  plantations  are  being  successfully  managed, 
and  the  industry  is  fast  reaching  large  proportions. 

Rice  has  been  raised  considerably  by  Chinamen 
on  the  marshy  lands  near  the  seacoast,  but  the 
other  races  have  not  been  successful  with  it. 

Banana  raising  has  become  a  paying  industry; 
over  a  hundred  thousand  bunches,  worth  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  are  being  shipped  annu- 
ally, and  this  amount  might  be  largely  increased. 
Though  sugar,  rice,  coffee,  and  tropical  fruits  are 
the  chief  articles  of  export,  it  is  possible  to  grow 
the  products  of  the  temperate  zone  on  the  uplands. 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS.  139 

The  rapid  settlement  of  California  between  1850 
and  1860  furnished  a  new  market  for  the  produc- 
tions of  the  islands,  and  potatoes  became  a  profit- 
able crop,  while  wheat  was  successfully  cultivated 
in  the  Makawao  district,  and  a  steam  flouring  mill 
was  erected  in  Honolulu  in  1854.  But  neither  of 
these  crops  became  permanent  industries.  During 
the  reign  of  Kamehameha  IV.,  from  1855  to  1863, 
little  progress  was  made  in  the  industrial  pursuits. 
The  cultivation  of  wheat  was  finally  given  up,  and 
that  of  coffee  for  a  time  abandoned,  though  in 
1860  the  culture  of  rice  was  begun  with  consider- 
able success. 

The  period  of  the  war  of  the  great  Rebellion 
was  one  of  the  most  critical  to  American  interests. 
The  tide  of  sentiment  turned  toward  Great  Britain, 
which  through  its  astute  diplomacy  won  the  con- 
fidence of  the  king  and  queen,  the  first  being  then 
Kamehameha  V.  Already  the  English  govern- 
ment had  realised  the  coming  importance  of 
Hawaii  as  an  ocean  stronghold,  and  the  possibili- 
ties of  its  agricultural  industries.  It  was  seen 
that  rice,  cotton,  coffee,  and  sugar-cane  could  be 
raised  to  advantage.  The  beauties  of  the  climate 
were  also  beginning  to  attract  people  hither,  so 
that  its  population  was  increasing  faster  than 


140  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

ever.  Minister  McBride  explains  the  situation  in 
the  following  words :  "I  beg  leave  further  to  say 
that  American  interests  greatly  predominate  here 
over  all  others  combined,  and  not  less  than  four- 
fifths  of  the  commerce  connected  with  these 
islands  is  American.  The  merchants,  traders, 
dealers  of  all  kinds,  and  planters  are  principally 
Americans.  The  English  have  no  commerce  here 
worthy  of  the  name,  and  but  one  or  two  retail 
stores ;  the  Germans,  about  the  same  amount  of 
business  as  the  English.  Many  American  mer- 
chants here  are  doing  quite  a  large  business,  and 
would  extend  their  business  still  more  but  for  the 
danger  of  British  rule  over  the  group,  which  if  it 
should  become  the  dominant  or  governing  power, 
American  interests  would  be  crushed  out  with 
eagerness  and  despatch."  This  report  was  made 
in  1863,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  American  inter- 
est lost  very  little  if  any  vitality. 

The  treaty  of  commercial  reciprocity  with  the 
United  States  in  1875,  by  which  sugar  in  all  its 
states  and  several  other  articles  were  admitted 
there  free,  gave  an  unprecedented  growth  to  indus- 
try in  all  branches,  and  an  intoxicating  increase 
in  wealth  followed.  Men  seemed  to  go  wild  over 
the  prospects,  and  in  the  lack  of  cheap  labour  to 


INDUSTRIAL   PROGRESS.  141 

help  develop  enterprises  as  fast  as  they  wanted  to, 
the  importation  of  low-priced  labour  succeeded 
with  startling  rapidity,  as  will  be  shown  in  the 
chapters  devoted  to  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  in 
the  islands.  The  valuation  of  property  advanced, 
but  the  price  of  labour  suffered  from  the  great 
influx  from  abroad.  Less  than  one-tenth  of  the 
help  were  natives.  The  proportion  of  the  immi- 
grants procured  for  contract  labour  was  twenty-five 
women  to  one  hundred  men  as  a  rule,  and  from 
the  lowest  and  most  ignorant  classes  of  foreigners. 

But  this  headlong  rush  has  been  checked,  and 
Hawaii  is  rapidly  recovering  from  the  shock,  with 
the  brightest  prospects  for  the  future.  The  islands 
which  are  foremost  in  industrial  interests  are 
Hawaii,  with  its  great  varieties  of  soil  and  climate, 
affording  numerous  sugar  plantations  and  coffee 
lands ;  Maui,  following  in  the  same  line ;  Oahu, 
with  its  rich  sugar  and  rice  lands,  and  the  finest 
harbour  in  the  Pacific ;  Kauai,  for  its  well  watered 
slopes  and  luxuriant  vegetation  the  "  Garden  Is- 
land," largely  devoted  to  sugar  cultivation  and 
rice  growing. 

Still  the  industries  of  Hawaii  are  only  in  their 
infancy.  Less  than  one-fourth  of  the  land  which 
can  be  cultivated  is  now  under  improvement,  and 


142  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

scarcely  one- tenth  of  the  grazing  land  is  used.  It 
is  estimated  that  under  ordinary  management  the 
islands  can  be  made  to  afford  homes  for  a  popula- 
tion of  half  a  miillon  of  agriculturists.  As  fine 
wool  can  be  grown  here  as  in  Australia.  The 
exports  for  1898,  made  principally  to  the  United 
States,  reached  over  ten  million  dollars.  These 
can  be  increased  ten  times.  Its  present  income  is 
almost  one  million  and  eight  hundred  dollars. 
Should  manufacturing  enterprises  be  started  here, 
which  is  quite  likely  at  an  early  date,  the  future 
will  show  it  to  be  one  of  the  richest  spots  on  earth. 
All  this  without  saying  a  word  as  to  its  possibilities 
as  a  health  and  pleasure  resort,  for  which  it  is  so 
admirably  adapted. 

A  glance  at  its  educational  institutions  shows 
that  these  have  kept  abreast  of  the  agricultural 
interests.  Schools  were  begun  and  houses  built 
soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries,  and  as 
early  as  1831  a  high  school  was  established  at 
Lahaina.  In  1836  Mr.  Lyman  opened  a  high 
school  at  Hilo,  and  the  same  year  the  female 
seminary  at  Wailuku,  Maui,  was  commenced.  In 
August,  1838,  the  chiefs  commenced  the  study 
of  political  economy  under  the  instruction  of  Mr. 
William  Richards,  and  May  10th,  the  following 


INDUSTRIAL  PROGRESS.  143 

year,  the  first  edition  of  the  Hawaiian  Bible  was 
finished.  A  year  later  a  school  for  young  chiefs, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooke,  teachers,  was  opened  at 
Honolulu,  and  May  21,  1841,  the  school  for  mis- 
sionaries' children  was  begun  at  Punahou,  now 
Oahu  College.  New  schools  have  been  established 
from  time  to  time,  until  there  is  no  district,  how- 
ever remote,  which  does  not  have  its  school. 

The  system  is  that  of  free  public  schools  similar 
to  the  plan  of  the  United  States,  from  where 
many  of  the  teachers  come.  The  text-books  are 
uniform,  and  can  be  bought  as  cheap  as  in  the 
latter  country.  Those  native  born,  or  born  on  the 
island  of  foreign  parents,  are  compelled  to  attend 
school  by  law.  The  only  people  who  cannot  read 
and  write  are  among  those  who  have  come  from 
abroad.  The  schools  are  non-sectarian,  and  besides 
the  common  school  system  there  are  opportunities 
for  getting  a  higher  education,  such  as  the  gram- 
mar grade  of  the  United  States  afford,  while  at 
Honolulu  a  high  school  and  collegiate  course  can 
be  obtained.  Instruction  in  the  common  schools 
is  conducted  in  the  English  language. 

There  are  papers  published  in  the  Hawaiian, 
Portuguese,  Japanese,  and  Chinese  languages, 
besides  several  in  the  English  language.  Hono- 


144  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

lulu  has  three  evening  dailies,  one  morning  daily. 
and  two  weeklies,  besides  monthly  magazines. 
Some  of  the  latter  are  finely  illustrated. 

The  islands  have  regular  communication  with 
San  Francisco,  once  a  month  with  British  Colum- 
bia, and  twice  a  month  with  Australia  and  New 
Zealand.  Steamers  also  ply  between  Honolulu 
and  Japan  and  China.  Intercourse  between  the 
islands  is  by  steamers,  which  are  constantly  plying 
between  the  different  ports,  giving  frequent  com- 
munications to  and  from  the  capital.  There  are 
three  public  railroads,  and  more  contemplated. 
besides  several  plantations,  each  operating  ten  to 
thirty  miles  of  track.  Since  annexation,  the  steam 
traffic  has  greatly  increased. 

All  of  the  principal  islands  have  a  regular  postal 
system,  so  that  on  the  arrival  of  a  steamer  at  any 
main  point,  mail  carriers  are  ready  to  distribute 
the  mail  through  all  parts  of  the  district.  On 
Oahu,  Hawaii,  and  Kauai  telephone  connections 
are  found  at  every  important  place,  and  Maui  is 
beginning  to  have  its  line.  The  islands  are  in  a 
direct  course  from  San  Francisco  to  the  Philip- 
pines, being  about  one-third  of  the  distance,  and, 
though  over  two  thousand  miles  from  the  nearest 
point  of  mainland,  in  these  days  of  rapid  ocean 


INDUSTRIAL   PROGRESS.  145 

transit  are  not  so  lonely  in  their  situation  as 
might  at  first  seem.  Under  the  changed  condition 
of  affairs  the  native  has  become  a  trusted  and 
valued  citizen.  History  in  no  other  land  shows 
such  a  rapid  advance  from  paganism  to  respect- 
able civilisation,  from  indolence  to  a  good  degree 
of  progress,  as  the  descendants  of  the  followers  of 
Kamehameha. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE   JAPANESE   AND    CONTRACT   LABOUE  IN 
HAWAII. 


~^HE  Japanese  and  Chinese  now  comprise  over 
forty  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  and  are  already  more  than  half 
of  the  male  inhabitants.  This  situation  becomes 
more  striking  when  it  is  realised  that  the  former 
have  more  than  doubled  in  number  during  the  last 
seven  years.  This  influx  has  been  due  largely  to 
the  influence  of  the  sugar  planters,  who  have 
looked  to  the  home  land  of  these  races  for  cheap 
labour  with  which  to  carry  on  their  industry. 

Naturally  these  Asiatic  elements  are  beginning 
to  be  felt.  Of  all  the  foreign  immigrants  to 
Hawaii  the  Japanese  have  excited  the  most  talk, 
if  not  real  concern,  as  to  the  dangerous  outcome 
of  the  rapid  increase  of  this  race  on  the  islands. 
Since  the  annexation  of  the  islands  to  the  United 
States  the  situation  has  been  modified  somewhat, 

146 


JAPANESE  AND   CONTRACT  LABOUR.         147 

but  the  grave  fact  remains  that  the  Oriental  ele- 
ment is  still  a  power  in  the  island  territory.  In 
1894  Admiral  Walker,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  American  navy  in  these  waters,  said :  "  They 
(the  Japanese)  are  inclined  to  be  turbulent ;  they 
stand  together  as  a  solid  body,  and  their  leaders 
are  said  to  have  political  ambitions,  and  propose  to 
claim  for  their  free  men  the  right  to  vote  under 
the  conditions  with  which  that  right  is  granted  to 
other  foreigners.  They  are  a  brave  people,  with 
military  instincts,  and  would  fight  if  aroused  to 
violence." 

Japan  is  the  England  of  the  East.  Admiral 
Ammen,  in  1896,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Congres- 
sional committee  :  "  It  does  not  require  a  prophet 
to  foresee  that  those  islands  in  the  near  future 
will  be  either  American  or  Japanese."  This  Ori- 
ental power,  still  in  its  infancy,  had  then  a  larger 
naval  force  in  that  vicinity  than  the  United  States. 
But  there  were  other  reasons  than  a  desire  to  pos- 
sess the  islands  which  prompted  Japan  to  its 
watchfulness  and  jealousy  over  the  country. 
That  was  the  Hawaiian-Japan  treaty  relative  to 
Japanese  immigration. 

Early  in  the  sugar  industry  Japanese  labour 
was  sought  to  help  in  raising  of  cane  and  manu- 


148  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

facture  of  sugar.  A  treaty  was  made  with  Japan 
which  should  give  that  country  a  certain  sum 
every  man  or  woman  permitted  to  come  to  Hawaii, 
and  a  strict  account  was  kept  of  each  labourer 
furnished.  Upon  their  arrival  in  Honolulu  those 
desiring  help  were  permitted  to  select  their  labour- 
ers and  take  them  to  their  plantations.  Each 
man  was  allowed  from  twelve  to  fifteen  dollars 
a  month,  and  each  woman  thirteen,  a  house  to  live 
in,  fuel,  free  water  and  medical  attendance.  This 
system  gave  rise  to  spirited  opposition,  and  has 
been  compared  to  slavery  as  it  existed  in  the 
Southern  States  of  America  before  the  great 
Rebellion,  though  there  was  scarcely  a  point  of 
resemblance  between  the  two  systems.  But  there 
was  this  to  be  said  in  its  favour:  The  labourer 
was  allowed  to  return  to  his  country  at  the  end  of 
three  years,  and  while  here  he  was  not  to  be 
separated  from  his  family.  Neither  was  the 
planter  upheld  in  resorting  to  violence,  and  was 
liable  to  a  fine  for  assault.  Living  largely  ui 
rice  raised  by  himself,  and  under  the  favourable 
condition  of  the  climate,  the  labourer  could  lay  by 
a  modest  sum  each  year  if  he  chose.  The  Japan- 
ese consulate  at  Honolulu  received  his  savings  at 
the  rate  of  four  per  cent,  interest.  Frugal  and 


JAPANESE  AND   CONTRACT  LABOUR.         149 

temperate  in  their  habits,  the  Japanese  could  save 
a  part  of  his  salary  to  take  home,  or  to  help  him 
to  found  a  home  in  this  country  if  he  decided  to 
remain,  and  thus  many  of  them  were  only  too 
glad  to  improve  the  opportunity.  But  there  was 
a  clause  in  this  treaty  which  soon  fomented 
trouble,  began  to  mobilise  Hawaii  with  a  trouble- 
some people,  and  led  to  a  collision  with  Japan. 

The  treaty  provided  that  Hawaii  could  not  pre- 
vent Japanese  from  coming  to  the  islands  as  free 
immigrants  in  any  numbers  that  they  chose,  and 
Oriental  immigration  increased  with  startling 
rapidity.  In  1896  they  came  at  the  rate  of  a 
thousand  a  month,  and  the  adult  males  of  that 
nationality  outnumbered  any  other  race  of  immi- 
grants. The  result  could  be  readily  anticipated 
unless  some  restriction  was  made  by  the  govern- 
ment. This  was  done,  when  the  Japanese  gov- 
ernment remonstrated,  and  the  planters  complained 
that  they  could  find  no  labourer  to  take  the  place 
of  the  wiry,  active,  progressive  Japanese.  The 
Portuguese,  considered  the  superior  of  any  foreign 
labourer,  would  not  come  in  sufficient  numbers, 
other  Europeans,  and  Americans  failed  to  do  so, 
and  the  Hawaiian  already  there  refused  to  do  it. 
While  but  a  few  Japanese  on  the  islands  could 


150  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

read  or  write  English  or  Hawaiian,  a  qualification 
necessary  to  obtain  the  right  of  suffrage,  the 
Americans  became  alarmed  lest  Hawaii  become  a 
Japanese  colony  and  under  their  control. 

The  first  measure  to  check  this  increase  of  them 
was  made  in  1895  by  the  immigration  committee, 
which  issued  an  order  obliging  planters  to  import 
two-thirds  of  their  contract  labour  from  China  or 
some  other  country  except  Japan.  This  aroused 
Japan,  and  a  sharp  controversy  followed  when  the 
Hawaii  authorities  refused,  on  technical  grounds, 
to  allow  two  cargoes  of  immigrants  to  land.  Free 
labourers  were  entitled  to  enter  Hawaii  without 
any  preliminary  action  of  the  authorities,  but  it 
was  stipulated  that  they  should  possess  fifty  dol- 
lars. A  thousand  of  the  newcomers  had  written 
agreements  from  the  Japanese  Immigration  Com- 
pany that  in  consideration  of  twelve  yen  they 
were  to  be  returned  to  Japan,  providing  labour 
could  not  be  secured  for  them.  This  made  them, 
the  Hawaiian  committee  claimed,  not  free  labour- 
ers, but  contract  labourers  not  agreeing  with  the 
intention  of  the  treaty.  Then,  when  the  immi- 
grants showed  each  fifty  dollars,  which  was  in- 
tended to  make  them  appear  as  free  immigrants,  it 
was  held  that  these  sums  had  been  loaned  them 


JAPANESE  AND  CONTRACT  LABOUR.         151 

by  the  society  for  the  object  of  evading  the  law. 
The  Hawaiian  authorities  were  firm  and  Japan 
took  home  her  immigrants,  and  instead  of  sending 
more  at  the  time,  despatched  a  war-ship  to  the 
islands.  Learning  of  this  intended  movement,  the 
United  States  sent  the  cruiser  Philadelphia  to 
Honolulu,  which  was  in  the  harbour  when  the 
Japanese  vessel,  Naniiva,  arrived  on  May  5,  1897. 

Japan  acknowledged  the  predominant  interest 
of  the  United  States  in  Hawaii,  but  claimed  that 
its  own  interests  there  demanded  careful  and 
watchful  attention.  Then  Hawaii  offered  to  arbi- 
trate the  immigration  question,  and  Japan  agreeing 
in  July,  the  following  September  immigration  of 
free  labourers  from  that  country  was  resumed. 
This  time  the  Japanese  government  was  careful 
that  the  regulations  of  the  treaty  were  fully  com- 
plied with  and  Hawaii  was  obliged  to  continue  to 
accept  the  influx  of  this  people.  It  may  be  well 
to  say  here  that  the  matter  of  the  previous  trouble 
was  satisfactorily  settled  before  the  annexation  of 
the  island  republic  to  the  United  States. 

There  are  many  educated  and  intelligent  Japan- 
ese on  the  islands,  who  are  prominent  in  business 
and  have  thrifty  homes,  but  the  class  most  largely 
drawn  hither  is  ignorant,  impetuous,  and  hard  to 


152  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

control.  If  industrious,  they  are  ambitious,  and, 
seeing  better  than  the  Chinese  the  real  inwardness 
of  their  situation,  are  dissatisfied  with  it,  waiting, 
watching  for  the  opportunity  to  strike  a  blow  at 
the  power  which  attempts  to  hold  them  in  check. 
There  is  too  much  of  the  Yankee  about  them  to  be 
held  long  in  surveillance,  and,  with  their  high  per- 
centage of  population,  what  the  outcome  is  to  be 
is  hard  to  forecast,  though  probably  no  cause  for 
serious  alarm. 

While  there  is  a  great  difference  between  the 
condition  of  these  "  slaves  of  Hawaii "  and  those 
of  the  old  regime  of  the  South,  plantation  life  in 
the  islands  is  much  the  same  as  that  was  in  the 
slave  States  of  America  before  1861.  The  common 
visitor  sees  only  the  surface.  The  vast  estate  is 
conducted  in  a  patriarchal  manner ;  the  big  house 
occupied  by  the  high-salaried  manager,  set  with 
wide  verandas  and  embowered  in  flowers,  stands 
where  it  can  command  the  best  view  of  the  situa- 
tion. In  the  distance  are  collections  of  the  flat, 
plain  houses  of  the  labourers.  The  Japanese  are 
usually  nearest ;  they  have  picked  up  Occidental 
ways  so  rapidly  they  like  to  be  near  their  masters ; 
and  these  like  to  have  them  as  closely  under  their 
eyes  as  possible,  knowing  the  volcano  of  discontent 


JAPANESE  AND   CONTEACT  LABOUR.         153 

rages  under  the  calm  surface  and  is  liable  to  break- 
forth  at  any  moment  without  warning.  The  cool- 
ies, less  mindful  of  their  future,  are  not  as  danger- 
ous. Their  houses  are  perhaps  a  mile  or  even  two 
miles  farther  up  the  mountainside.  There  is 
nothing  striking  about  these  villages,  except  the 
painful  uniformity  of  the  dwellings,  possessing  no 
ornaments  and  few  comforts,  other  than  the  little 
plot  of  cultivated  ground  around  them. 

Next  to  the  broad  acres  of  rank  cane  rustling  in 
the  breeze  are  the  mills  where  the  giant  plants 
are  sent  down  the  water-flume  in  a  furious  pas- 
sage, until  torn,  and  crushed  into  a  shapeless  mass 
which  is  dropped  at  the  foot  of  the  sluice.  But  it 
is  not  left  here  to  rest  long,  before  it  is  taken 
through  the  different  stages  of  crushing  and  press- 
ing, purifying,  until  the  black,  sticky,  ill-smelling 
syrup  comes  out  in  a  beautiful  golden  tint,  pure 
and  delicious,  the  perfection  of  sugar.  Every- 
where the  machinery  is  tended  by  Japanese,  even 
to  the  last  act  in  the  shifting  scene,  where  the 
sugar  bags  are  sewed  together  by  the  deft  fingers 
of  a  little  Japanese  woman  in  a  holoku.  In  spite 
of  the  grinding  competition  in  the  sugar  business, 
through  the  industry  of  this  army  of  lean,  brown, 
active  toilers,  it  has  been  made  to  yield  in  the 


154  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

aggregate  great  profit  here  in  Hawaii.  But  for 
this  and  for  them,  without  a  voice  in  their  man- 
agement, the  history  of  the  islands  must  have 
been  told  with  far  different  results. 

The  plantation  store  is  an  important  feature  in 
the  scene,  for  through  that  the  money  of  the 
labourer  largely  finds  its  way  back  to  the  power 
controlling  this  mass  of  workers.  The  prices  here 
are  usually  high,  but  the  buyer  is  helpless.  So 
the  wheel  turns,  crushing  not  only  the  cane  but  a 
human  grist.  It  is  true  many  of  these  labourers 
are  of  the  lowest  class,  —  criminals  it  may  be,  — 
the  refuse  of  an  inferior  humanity  brought  to- 
gether promiscuously.  Riots  and  outbreaks  are 
not  common.  It  requires  a  stern,  strong  overseer 
to  hold  in  control  such  a  gang,  and  doubtless 
there  are  those  who  take  advantage  of  their  posi- 
tion to  abuse  those  who  are  powerless  to  help 
themselves. 

If  they  attempt  to  desert,  the  only  way  for 
them  to  escape  from  their  bondage,  the  police 
force  of  the  island  is  ready  to  hunt  them  down. 
When  captured,  as  they  usually  are,  they  are 
sometimes  sent  to  the  hot  "  reef  "  to  work  until 
they  are  glad  to  get  back  to  the  cooler  cane-field. 

The  worst  of  the  situation  is  the  common  herd- 


JAPANESE  AND   CONTRACT  LABOUR.         155 

ing  of  the  labourers  —  male  and  female  —  much  as 
a  drove  of  cattle  would  be  driven  into  their  pen. 
In  the  great  yard  of  the  station  every  morning, 
at  one  of  these  plantations,  hundreds  of  Japanese 
men  and  women  can  be  seen  marching  sullenly  to 
the  fields.  At  midday  this  little  army  returns  to 
the  quarantined  men  and  women  who  have  pre- 
pared their  simple  meal  of  rice,  boiled  turnips, 
and  meat,  their  daily  fare.  They  lodge,  as  they 
eat,  promiscuously.  In  a  big,  poorly  ventilated 
room  they  have  their  bunks  or  wide,  bare  beds, 
where  as  many  as  half  a  dozen  sleep  together.  It 
can  be  truthfully  said  of  them  that  few  if  any 
have  seen  better  days,  but  under  the  sun  of  Amer- 
ican civilisation  it  is  to  be  hoped  a  new  day  will 
soon  dawn  for  the  unfortunate  race.  A  new 
treaty  with  Japan,  which  went  into  effect  in  1899, 
allows  the  United  States  to  regulate  the  immigra- 
tion of  Japanese  labourers.  They  are  now  free  to 
come  from  Hawaii  to  this  country,  but  as  yet  none 
have  shown  a  disposition  to  do  so. 

There  is  a  Japanese  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
founded  by  Rev.  H.  Kihara,  a  native  of  Japan, 
who  was  converted  in  California,  who  then  came 
to  Hawaii.  His  membership  consists  of  about 
eighty  of  his  own  people,  but  who  are  poor. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    CHINESE    IN    PARADISE. 

PREJUDICED  as  the  average  American  is 
against  the  Oriental  races,  it  is  not  easy  for 
him  to  realise  the  different  standing  and  impor- 
tance of  the  Chinese  in  Hawaii  to  that  of  his  own 
country.  Unlike  the  clannish  and  ignorant  inhabi- 
tants of  Chinatown,  San  Francisco,  or  of  any  of 
the  continental  cities,  in  a  climate  suited  to  his 
nature  and  under  influences  tending  to  develop 
his  better  elements,  the  Chinaman  in  Hawaii  is 
really  a  useful  and  respected  citizen.  He  has 
become,  in  fact,  a  Hawaiian,  just  as  much  as  the 
Irishman,  German,  and  Swede,  under  conditions 
equally  favourable  to  them,  have  become  accepted 
as  Americans.  This  does  not  mean,  by  any 
means,  that  he  has  entirely  lost  the  inherent 
characteristics  of  his  countrymen,  —  it  will  require 
many  generations  to  do  this,  —  but  that  he  is  a 
faithful  and  zealous  subject  of  his  adopted  land, 
where  so  many  of  its  population  are  aliens. 

156 


THE  CHINESE  IN  PAEADISE.  157 

Early  in  the  days  of  modern  Hawaii,  through 
the  sandalwood  trade,  being  the  principal  market 
for  this  valuable  export,  China  began  to  play  an 
important  part  in  the  development  of  the  islands. 
To  a  Chinese  merchant,  who  came  to  Hawaii  in 
1802,  in  the  sandalwood  business,  belongs  the 
credit  of  first  manufacturing  sugar  from  cane 
growing  wild  on  the  island.  But  the  process 
was  too  slow  to  make  the  work  a  success,  and 
it  was  left  for  the  inventive  genius  of  the 
Americans  to  reduce  the  enterprise  to  a  profitable 
science. 

Chinese  immigration  then  followed,  very  much 
after  the  manner  of  the  coming  of  the  European 
races  into  the  United  States  at  the  outset  of  open- 
ing up  of  the  country.  The  better  class  of  China- 
men, with  a  spirit  of  enterprise  and  adventure 
coupled  with  the  natural  desire  to  better  their 
fortunes,  came  as  traders  or  labourers  having  the 
genuine  purpose  of  staying  permanently.  Liking 
the  climate  and  country,  they  soon  lost  all  desire 
to  return  to  their  native  land,  and  those  who  had 
left  wives  and  families  at  home  sent  for  them  to 
help  found  new  homes  here.  More  than  the  race 
has  done  in  any  other  country  they  associated 
with  the  other  inhabitants,  intermarrying  with 


158  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

them,  until  to-day  a  Chinaman  is  considered  the 
best  match  possible  for  a  native  Hawaiian. 

The  pioneers  came  about  three-fourths  of  a  cen- 
tury ago,  but  the  tide  of  immigration  had  not 
fairly  set  in  that  direction  until  1840,  and  even 
then  the  rush  did  not  begin.  This  came  compara- 
tively a  few  years  since,  when  the  fright  over  the 
flood  of  the  Japanese  caused  the  authorities  to 
compel  the  planters  and  seekers  after  cheap  labour 
to  look  to  China  for  their  help.  This  of  course 
brought  an  influx  of  the  lower  class,  but  the  better 
element  had  gained  a  footing  and  a  higher  stand- 
ing than  the  natives  of  Japan  have  yet  acquired, 
or  will  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

In  the  grave  perils  of  the  eighties,  when  immi- 
gration was  overruning  the  islands  to  the  menace 
of  its  civil  liberties,  this  class  joined  with  others 
zealous  for  the  good  of  the  government  to  mini- 
mise the  common  evil  by  weeding  out  as  much  as 
possible  the  masses  of  those  who,  their  term  of 
bondage  over,  tended  to  become  hangers-on  of  the 
country,  —  paupers  and  criminals.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  Chinese, 
who  had  no  tie  to  bind  them  longer  to  the  islands, 
were  sent  home  as  soon  as  their  time  of  contract 
service  had  expired.  The  end  of  the  century  will 


THE   CHINESE  IN  PAEADISE.  159 

find  the  last  contract  closed,  and  but  a  few  of  these 
labourers  in  the  country. 

It  is  true  fewer  Chinese  women  come  to  the 
islands  than  of  the  other  races,  yet  they  do  come 
in  considerable  numbers,  and  the  homes  of  the 
people,  from  the  humble  huts  of  the  plantation 
toilers  on  the  mountainsides  to  the  luxurious 
dwellings  in  the  centres  of  population,  are  found 
in  all  parts  of  the  seven  isles.  The  following 
statistics  will  give  a  good  idea  of  the  situation : 
According  to  the  census  of  1896  there  were 
21,616  Chinese  on  the  islands, — 19,167  males 
and  2,449  females.  There  were  2,234  who  had 
been  born  in  Hawaii,  and  of  19,317  Chinese  over 
six  years  of  age,  48.47  per  cent,  can  read  English 
or  Hawaiian  or  both.  Of  665  Chinese  children 
within  school  age,  92.48  per  cent,  attend  school. 
The  Hawaiian-born  Chinese  are  10.3  per  cent, 
of  the  population  born  of  foreign  parents.  One- 
fourth  of  the  Chinese  men  over  fifteen  years  of 
age  are  married,  while  of  1,269  females,  1,173 
are  married,  and  the  average  number  of  children 
born  to  a  Chinese  mother  is  2.83  per  cent.  Of 
these  children  87.56  per  cent,  survive.  Since 
1845,  notwithstanding  that  the  naturalisation  of 
the  Chinese  has  been  discouraged,  and  since  the 


160  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

overthrow  of  the  monarchy  no  one  of  any  race 
or  nationality  has  been  so  favoured,  722  Chinese 
have  been  given  their  naturalisation  papers. 

In  regard  to  occupation,  the  Chinese,  male  and 
female,  are  divided  as  follows  :  Labourers,  10,941 ; 
farmers,  1,278 ;  rice  planters,  718 ;  teamsters, 
105;  mechanics,  220 ;  fishers,  294 ;  ranchers,  98 ; 
coffee  planters,  36 ;  mariners,  15 ;  merchants  and 
traders,  823 ;  clerks  and  salesmen,  295  ;  doctors, 
15  ;  other  professions,  such  as  teachers,  law  clerks, 
etc.,  303  ;  miscellaneous  occupations,  1,569.  Nearly 
a  thousand  of  the  Chinese  have  professed  the 
Christian  religion,  sixty-seven  having  joined  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  886  the  Protestant. 

The  number  of  Chinese  owning  their  homes 
is  800,  all  but  200  of  their  houses  being  built 
on  long-leased  lands,  which  is  the  prevailing 
custom  among  all  nationalities.  They  own  more 
horses  and  working-cattle  than  any  other  race, 
having  over  three  thousand  horses  and  nearly 
half  as  many  cattle.  They  own  7,862  pigs,  a 
larger  number  than  any  other  race  on  the 
islands.  In  Hawaii  each  business  is  licensed, 
and  the  Chinese  in  1897  held  1,623  licenses,  pay- 
ing to  the  government  in  these  fees  $48,724. 
They  own  property  assessed  at  $125,274.31,  and 


THE  CHINESE  IN  PARADISE.  161 

they  paid  in  1897,  with  their  license  fees,  nearly 
one-eighth  of  the  amount  raised  in  taxes  for  the 
year.  An  observant  writer  says  of  the  race  : 

"  As  independent  farmers  and  agriculturists,  the 
Chinese  number  1,278.  Most  of  these  have  only 
small  holdings.  They  raise  vegetables,  which  are 
largely  sold  to  the  white  families,  and  when  away 
from  the  centres  of  population,  corn,  potatoes, 
and  figs  are  their  chief  sources  of  income.  As 
rice  planters  they  have  almost  a  monopoly,  num- 
bering 718  out  of  844.  In  this  line  the  Chinese 
have  been  of  great  benefit  to  the  country.  Large 
areas  of  land  which  were  unfit  for  ordinary  culti- 
vation, great  reed-covered  swamps,  which  were 
the  home  of  the  wild  duck  and  the  water-hen, 
have  been  made  productive  by  them,  and  now 
yield  a  fine  rent  to  the  owners  of  the  land  and 
a  revenue  in  taxation  to  the  government.  As 
fishermen,  the  Chinese  stand  next  to  the  Ha- 
waiians,  numbering  no  less  than  294.  But  the 
Hawaiian  fishermen  work  chiefly  each  for  them- 
selves or  in  little  companies  of  from  three  to 
half  a  dozen.  The  Chinese  work  in  large  com- 
panies, a  firm  of  small  capitalists  owning  the 
boats,  nets,  and  drying-houses  and  other  build- 
ings, and  employing  their  own  countrymen  at 


162  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

wages,  and  sometimes  with  a  small  interest  in 
the  firm,  to  do  the  work.  If  there  is  one  thing 
that  this  race  understands  better  than  another, 
it  is  cooperative  labour.  By  means  of  it  they 
get  more  out  of  their  workers  than  any  other 
race  can  obtain  out  of  them.  The  Chinese  take 
the  lead  among  merchants  and  traders,  more  than 
half  of  those  so  employed  being  Chinese." 

The  Chinese  servants,  of  which  there  are  many, 
with  Japanese  a  good  second,  seldom  live  in  the 
house  with  their  employers,  but  have  dwellings 
of  their  own,  going  to  their  place  of  occupation 
in  the  morning  and  returning  to  their  homes  in 
the  evening.  They  ask  for  only  one  holiday,  the 
Chinese  New  Year,  which  comes  on  February 
1st.  Then  they  absent  themselves  for  the  time, 
and  their  places  must  be  filled  by  other  persons. 
Before  going  it  is  the  custom  to  make  their 
"  mamma,"  or  mistress,  a  present  of  some  Chinese 
trinket,  a  high-coloured  vase,  some  fancy  work, 
flowers  or  sweetmeats,  receiving  in  return  some 
gift  that  is  sure  to  be  appreciated  by  them. 

The  Chinese  are  among  the  most  generous  con- 
tributors to  educational  and  benevolent  enterprises, 
calling  less  on  the  general  resources  for  charity 
than  any  other  nationality.  The  fountainhead 


THE  CHINESE  IN  PARADISE.  163 

of  the  philanthropic  work  is  the  United  Chinese 
Society  of  Honolulu,  a  representative  body  includ- 
ing all  the  smaller  organisations.,  concerning  which 
it  has  been  said:  "The  functions  of  the  United 
Chinese  Society  includes  all  those  things,  whether 
of  business,  philanthropy,  public  spirit,  race,  or 
national  matters,  or  matters  of  intellectual  uplift, 
which  can  be  better  done  through  organisation 
than  by  individual  interests.  It  succours  the  poor, 
finds  work  for  the  unemployed,  takes  care  of  the 
sick,  relieves  widows  and  orphans,  buries  the  dead, 
sees  to  the  return  to  China  of  the  bones  of  those 
who,  dying  here,  wished  their  bones  buried  on 
their  ancestral  soil.  It  has  charge  of  the  public 
celebrations,  of  national  holidays  and  events  ;  it 
entertains  those  who  are  the  guests  of  the  whole 
people.  It  looks  after  the  general  interest  of 
the  Chinese  Hawaii." 

Honolulu  has  been  aptly  termed  the  Paradise 
of  the  Chinese.  In  their  quarters,  for  even  in 
Hawaii  they  collect  together  more  or  less,  one 
sees  none  of  the  filthy  alleys  and  unsightly  homes. 
The  yards  are  surrounded  by  neat  fences  and 
flowers.  The  walls  of  the  dwellings  are  fes- 
tooned with  vines,  and  over  trellises  are  seen 
ripening  figs  and  other  fruits.  Everywhere  peace 


164  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

and  contentment  reign,  for  the  industrious  Mon- 
golian here  follows  his  busy  routine  or  work  or 
business  without  fear  of  molestation.  His  tiny 
shops,  instead  of  show-windows  having  their 
entire  fronts  open  during  the  day  and  closed 
with  stout  wooden  shutters  at  night,  line  the 
streets.  Numerous  occupations  have  been  taken 
up  by  them,  one  of  the  most  common  being  that 
of  the  tailor,  John  in  his  native  dress  and  queue, 
running  a  sewing-machine  in  making  cotton  holo- 
kus  for  the  Hawaiian  women,  presenting  an  odd 
picture  of  Oriental  and  Occidental  life.  But  this 
is  not  at  all  noticeable  in  the  Hawaiian  capital, 
which  affords  a  shifting  panorama  of  lives  of 
many  colours  and  combinations  of  customs. 

Chinatown  would  lose  its  most  prominent  trait 
without  its  joss-houses  with  their  curious  archi- 
tecture and  worshippers  crooning  and  mumbling 
before  their  hideous  gods.  These  are  not  lacking 
in  Honolulu,  though  they  are  less  pretentious  in 
appearance  than  those  seen  in  San  Francisco. 
The  Chinese  here,  too,  have  two  theatres,  where 
actors  of  repute  and  ability  perform  their  parts  to 
appreciative  audiences. 

In  close  proximity  to  their  temples  of  wor- 
ship are  the  schools,  the  largest  Chinese  schools 


THE  CHINESE  IN  PARADISE.  165 

outside  of  the  empire,  where  the  pupils,  numbering 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  are  taught  English 
as  well  as  their  own  language,  which  is  soon 
forgotten  when  they  have  acquired  the  former. 
They  have  a  most  attractive  kindergarten,  separate 
rooms  being  fitted  up  with  charts,  pictures,  black- 
boards, and  tables,  for  the  boys  and  girls,  all  of 
whom  look  very  picturesque,  if  not  pretty,  in  their 
native  costumes,  and  show  great  eagerness  to  mas- 
ter the  tasks  before  them. 

The  Chinese  of  Honolulu  support  two  churches, 
the  Christian,  of  Congregational  affiliations,  and 
St.  Paul's,  whose  patron  is  the  Anglican  Bishop  of 
Honolulu.  There  is  also  a  Chinese  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the 
world.  This  is  well  organised  and  supported,  but 
for  more  effective  work  among  its  class  is  the 
Mills  Institute,  the  Chinese  name  of  which  is 
Chum  Chan  Shue  Shat,  meaning  "  searching 
for  truth  literary  institution."  A  home  day 
and  boarding  school  for  Chinese  youth  occupies 
commodious  buildings,  set  in  beautiful  grounds 
near  the  centre  of  Honolulu.  Its  influence  is  felt 
all  over  the  islands,  and  it  is  generously  maintained 
by  Chinese  and  whites. 

What  is  likely  to  prove  a  popular  benevolent 


166  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

institution  is  the  Chinese  hospital  recently  com- 
pleted in  Honolulu  on  grounds  given  by  the  gov- 
ernment for  that  purpose.  It  is  in  charge  of  a 
physician  and  surgeon  graduated  in  Hong  Kong 
according  to  Occidental  system  of  medicine  and 
surgery,  also  another  trained  in  the  same  city  but 
under  the  Chinese  methods  of  treatment,  the  pa- 
tient being  allowed  his  choice.  This  hospital  is 
liberally  supported  by  the  Chinese  and  is  free 
to  receive  patients  from  that  nationality. 

Honolulu  has  a  well-equipped  and  well-disci- 
plined Chinese  fire  brigade,  which  has  built  its 
own  engine-house,  and  bought  its  engines  and  uni- 
forms from  money  raised  by  subscription  among 
its  own  countrymen. 

As  might  be  expected  in  a  community  as  nu- 
merous and  prominent  as  that  of  the  Chinese  in 
Hawaii,  there  are  to  be  found  many  men  of 
thought  and  action,  who  are  not  only  leaders 
among  their  countrymen,  but  who  are  prominent 
among  the  business  and  professional  men  of  all 
nationalities.  Under  the  Hawaiian  government, 
monarchy  or  republic,  the  race  has  been  treated 
fairly  and  has  no  complaint  to  make,  though  from 
apparent  reason  a  large  percentage  are  not  really 
citizens  and  cannot  become  such,  but  are  aliens. 


THE  CHINESE  IN  PARADISE.  167 

The  treaty  of  annexation  to  the  United  States- 
prohibits  any  further  immigration  of  the  Chinese 
to  Hawaii,  or  from  that  territory  to  the  continent. 
But  unlike  the  Japanese,  the  Chinese  are  not  much 
inclined  to  meddle  with  politics,  and  appear  a  con- 
tented people  in  American  Hawaii. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ANNEXATION. 

\  "^  7ITHIN  a  hundred  years  the  flags  of  European 
countries  have  floated  over  the  islands  four 
times :  first,  the  Russian  in  1815 ;  second,  the 
French  in  1839;  third,  the  British  in  1843;  and 
fourth,  the  French  again  in  1849,  when  Admiral 
Tromelin,  of  the  navy  of  France,  seized  the  fort 
at  Honolulu.  Reluctantly  each  time  these  powers 
had  withdrawn  their  hold  upon  the  little  kingdom, 
and  ever  afterward  stood  expectantly  waiting  for 
the  opportunity  when  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on  this  "  Key  of  the  Pacific."  Another  power,  too, 
Japan,  had  sprung  into  the  front  rank  of  aspiring 
nations,  presenting  a  stronger  threat  than  all  the 
others  against  the  safety  of  the  new  government. 

The  idea  of  annexation  to  the  United  States 
was  transplanted  by  the  Yankees  along  with 
their  business  connections.  Thus,  with  their 
Americanising  influences,  we  see,  from  the  days 

168 


SANFORD    B.    DOLE. 


ANNEXATION.  169 

of  the  first  Kamehameha  through  all  the  changes 
of  rulers,  a  continual  agitation  of  this  subject,  and 
time  and  again  appeals  were  made  for  some  sort 
of  an  alliance  with  the  great  American  republic. 

The  Provisional  Government  was  no  sooner 
formed  than  a  commission  was  sent  to  Washington 
to  reiterate  in  stronger  terms  than  ever  this  claim. 
This  commission  consisted  of  Hon.  L.  A.  Thurs- 
ton,  W.  C.  Wilder,  W.  R.  Castle,  J.  Marsden,  and 
C.  L.  Carter,  and  the  same  steamer  that  conveyed 
them  to  San  Francisco  carried  a  letter  of  re- 
monstrance from  the  ex-queen. 

Benjamin  Harrison  was  then  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  he  was  believed  to  feel  friendly 
toward  the  measure.  Minister  John  L.  Stevens 
and  Captain  Wiltse  of  the  navy  decided  to  es- 
tablish a  temporary  protectorate  over  the  islands, 
and  raised  the  flag  of  the  United  States  on  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1893,  when  the  first  issued  the  following 
proclamation : 

"  At  the  request  of  the  Provisional  Government 
of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  I  hereby,  in  the  name  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  assume  protection 
of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  for  the  protection  of  life 
and  property,  and  occupation  of  public  buildings 
and  Hawaiian  soil,  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  for 


170  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

the  purpose  specified,  but  not  interfering  with  the 
administration  of  public  affairs  by  the  Provisional 
Government.  This  action  is  taken  pending  and 
subject  to  the  negotiation  at  Washington." 

The  American  Secretary  of  State,  however,  did 
not  approve  of  the  action,  claiming  that  it  was  not 
consistent  with  the  existing  state  of  affairs  be- 
tween the  countries  to  impair  "in  any  way  the 
independent  sovereignty  of  the  Hawaiian  govern- 
ment by  substituting  the  flag  and  power  of  the 
United  States  as  symbol  and  manifestation  of  para- 
mount authority."  A  new  political  power  came 
into  possession  of  the  government  at  Washington, 
and  upon  the  inauguration  of  President  Cleve- 
land on  March  4,  1893,  he  withdrew  the  treaty. 
On  the  llth  instant  he  sent  Commissioner  Blount 
to  Hawaii  to  investigate  the  situation. 

March  31st  Commissioner  Blount  notified  Presi- 
dent Dole  that  the  American  protectorate  must 
end,  and  April  1st  the  American  flag  was  hauled 
down  without  any  public  notice,  as  President  Dole 
feared  an  outbreak  from  the  masses  if  it  should  be 
known  abroad  at  the  time.  The  royalists  now 
believed  there  was  hope  for  them,  while  the  Euro- 
pean powers  did  not  attempt  to  conceal  their 
pleasure  over  the  turn  in  affairs. 


ANNEXATION.  171 

Though  severely  censured  by  some,  no  doubt 
Commissioner  Blount  made  such  an  investigation 
as  he  could  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  in 
which  he  was  placed.  At  any  rate  his  report  was 
not  favourable  to  annexation,  and  it  became  ap- 
parent the  administration  had  little  objection 
toward  reinstating  the  deposed  queen  if  it  could 
be  done  quietly,  professing  to  believe  that  she 
had  been  treated  unfairly  by  the  American  min- 
ister in  landing  troops  at  the  critical  period  of 
the  revolution.  We  have  seen  that  this  was  done 
without  any  motives  of  intervention,  except  to 
protect  American  property,  which  this  government 
was  bound  to  do  in  case  of  any  outbreak.  If 
restored  to  power  the  queen  must  "  grant  full 
amnesty  to  all  who  had  participated  in  the  move 
against  her,  including  persons  who  are  or  have 
been  officially  or  otherwise  connected  with  the 
Provisional  Government,  depriving  them  of  no 
right  or  privilege  which  they  enjoyed  before  the 
so-called  revolution.  All  obligations  created  by 
the  Provisional  Government  in  the  course  of  ad- 
ministration should  be  assumed." 

At  first  the  queen  flatly  refused  to  accept  these 
terms,  but  finally  agreed  to  them  and  signed  the 
proper  papers,  when  Mr.  Willis,  who  had  succeeded 


172  THE  PARADISE  OF   THE  PACIFIC. 

Minister  Stevens,  presented  it  to  the  president  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  who  declined  to  agree 
to  the  proposition,  or  to  yield  the  power  which  had 
been  vested  in  him  as  the  chief  executive  of 
Hawaii,  and  also  as  minister  of  foreign  affairs. 
Upon  receiving  this  report  President  Cleveland 
commended  the  vexatious  matter  "  to  the  ex- 
tended powers  and  wise  discretion  of  Congress," 
where  no  special  action  was  taken. 

The  Provisional  Government  remained  firm  in 
its  possession,  though  the  royalists  and  their  sym- 
pathisers continued  to  hope  that  the  United  States 
would  yet  step  in  and  reinstate  the  queen.  When 
the  republic  was  formally  announced  on  July  4, 
1894,  the  United  States  recognised  its  authority, 
and  other  national  powers  did  so  during  the  year, 
so  that  the  republic  was  fairly  established,  though 
the  government  rested  upon  a  volcano,  which, 
like  its  fiery  mountains,  was  liable  to  break  out 
at  any  moment. 

The  political  leaders  and  plotters  of  the  defeated 
party  kept  the  natives  in  a  continual  condition  of 
alarm,  fearful  that  their  property  or  liberty  would 
be  taken  from  them.  By  some  it  was  believed 
that  the  colour  line  would  be  drawn  as  it  had  never 
been.  Plots  and  schemes  were  soon  afoot,  no  doubt 


ANNEXATION.  173 

with  the  knowledge  if  not  the  assistance  of  the 
queen,  to  restore  her  to  power.  Arms  were  pro- 
cured and  concealed  to  be  in  readiness  for  use  in 
case  the  plans  should  mature.  Secret  meetings 
were  held  in  the  vicinity  of  Honolulu  with  increas- 
ing frequency,  and  early  in  the  new  year,  on  the 
afternoon  of  Sunday,  January  6th,  the  police  were 
notified  that  a  party  of  suspicious  characters, 
mostly  natives,  were  gathered  at  a  house  near 
Diamond  Head.  Captain  E.  W.  Parker  imme- 
diately sent  some  officers  with  search  warrants  to 
the  place.  On  their  way  they  were  joined  by  four 
Americans,  but  native  born.  Upon  reaching  the 
houses  the  party  was  fired  upon,  and  one  of  the 
volunteers,  Mr.  Charles  L.  Carter,  who  had  been 
a  member  of  the  late  commission  to  the  United 
States,  was  mortally  wounded,  so  that  he  died  a 
few  hours  later.  The  situation  now  looked  serious. 
At  the  time  religious  services  were  being  held 
at  the  Central  Union  Church,  where  a  large 
congregation  had  gathered,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Bernie  was  in  the  midst  of  one  of  his  eloquent 
discourses  when,  unnoticed  by  the  listeners,  a 
man  entered  the  building  and  whispered  to  a 
member  of  the  National  Guards  sitting  near  the 
door : 


174  THE  PARADISE   OF   THE  PACIFIC. 

"  The  natives  have  opened  hostilities  at  Ber- 
tlemann's  house  beyond  Waikiki.  They  have 
killed  Carter,  and  wounded  two  or  three.  Notify 
the  members  of  the  Guards  to  meet  at  their  quar- 
ters at  once." 

This  man,  whose  name  was  Benner,  went  silently 
and  swiftly  from  pew  to  pew,  and  whispered  to 
those  here  and  there  the  call,  when  each  indi- 
vidual went  out  without  disturbing  the  preacher, 
who  must  have  felt  surprise  at  seeing  so  many 
quietly  leaving  him.  If  those  who  were  left 
were  curious  as  to  the  cause  which  had  taken 
so  many  of  their  number  away,  quiet  reigned  in 
the  house  until  the  clatter  of  horses'  feet,  as  the 
cavalry  dashed  past,  and  the  report  of  firearms 
aroused  all  to  a  sense  of  the  situation.  A  rush 
was  immediately  made  for  the  door,  and  Mr. 
Bernie,  thus  rudely  broken  in  his  sermon,  fol- 
lowed his  congregation  to  learn  the  extent  of 
the  alarm  and  its  cause. 

Soldiers  were  to  be  seen  forming  and  march- 
ing away;  there  was  news  of  fighting  near 
Diamond  Head ;  flying  reports  of  many  killed 
and  wounded  were  repeated  on  every  hand,  while 
intense  excitement  reigned  in  all  sections.  An 
insurrection  was  on  foot,  but  beyond  that  the 


ANNEXATION.  175 

best  posted  could  give  nothing  definite.  That 
was  the  most  anxious  night  Honolulu  ever  knew. 
The  gravity  and  danger  of  the  situation  was 
now  fully  realised,  and  the  following  day  twelve 
hundred  armed  men  were  called  to  the  assistance, 
and  martial  law  proclaimed. 

Sharp  fighting  ensued  for  several  days,  until 
the  native  forces  under  the  command  of  Samuel 
Nowlein,  formerly  colonel  of  the  queen's  body- 
guard, and  Robert  Wilcox,  who  had  been  at  the 
head  of  the  uprising  in  1887,  were  forced  to 
surrender.  Several  of  their  number  had  been 
killed,  and  the  uprising  was  at  last  under  con- 
trol. During  this  and  all  previous  revolutions 
seven  lives  had  been  lost  on  the  republic's  side, 
and  as  many  wounded. 

A  trial  was  given  the  captured  conspirators, 
beginning  January  17th  and  lasting  for  thirty- 
six  days.  The  leaders  were  sentenced  to  pay 
heavy  fines,  and  to  suffer  long  terms  of  imprison- 
ment. The  ex-queen,  believed  to  have  been  con- 
cerned in  the  insurrection,  was  arrested  and  given 
trial  with  the  others.  Her  sentence  was  a  fine 
of  five  thousand  dollars  and  imprisonment  for 
five  years.  She  remained  in  detention  until 
December,  when  her  sentence  was  remitted,  and 


176  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

signing  a  formal  letter  of  abdication  on  January 
24,  1895,  she  was  fully  pardoned.  She  then  started 
on  a  journey  abroad,  coming  to  the  United  States 
during  her  tour. 

Uninterrupted  peace  succeeded,  while  the  Ha- 
waiian republic  grew  steadily  stronger  and  more 
prosperous.  It  now  showed  that  it  had  level- 
headed men  at  its  head,  and  that  it  was  deserving 
of  consideration ;  that  annexation  to  the  United 
States  meant  a  "  consummation,  not  a  change." 
The  politics  of  the  United  States  government, 
which  had  ever  had  much  to  do  with  the  policy 
of  Hawaiian  annexation,  again  had  changed.  Ha- 
waiian commissioners  appeared  in  Washington  soon 
after  the  inauguration  of  President  McKinley,  and 
an  annexation  treaty  was  sent  to  the  Senate. 
While  this  body  hesitated  and  considered  the 
matter,  the  Spanish-American  war  broke  out ; 
Admiral  Dewey  won  his  famous  victory  at  Manila, 
and  with  the  prospect  of  the  United  States'  new 
power  in  the  Far  East,  the  need  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  as  a  half-way  station  on  the  broad  Pacific 
was  realised  as  it  never  had  been  before.  The  bill 
of  annexation  now  met  with  little  opposition,  and 
on  Thursday,  July  7,  1898,  President  McKinley 
approved  of  the  work  of  Congress  by  his  offi- 


ANN  EX  A  TION.  177 

cial  signature,  when  the  dream  of  American  Ha- 
waii was  at  last  fulfilled. 

July  18th,  the  steamer  Coptic  reached  Hono- 
lulu from  San  Francisco,  carrying  the  news  of 
annexation.  As  this  fact  had  been  anticipated, 
the  people  were  prepared  to  receive  the  messen- 
ger with  demonstrations  of  delight.  Whistles  from 
mills,  foundries,  and  steamers  screamed  out  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  tidings  from  every  quarter ; 
fireworks  set  the  town  ablaze ;  while  the  streets 
were  paraded  by  marching  columns  and  bands 
played  patriotic  American  airs.  Altogether  it 
was  a  great  jubilee,  and  Captain  Sealby,  who  had 
brought  the  news,  was  presented  with  a  souvenir 
cup  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 

"Annexation.  Presented  by  the  citizens  to 
Capt.  Inman  Sealby,  R.  N.  R.,  who  brought  the 
good  news  to  Honolulu." 

The  final  act  in  the  long  and  momentous  drama 
of  annexation  was  enacted  on  August  12,  1898, 
when,  at  precisely  eight  minutes  to  twelve  o'clock 
noon,  the  Hawaiian  flag  was  hauled  down  from  the 
flagstaffe  on  all  of  the  government  buildings,  and 
just  three  minutes  later  the  stars  and  stripes  were 
run  up  in  their  places.  The  ceremonies  were 
simple  and  impressive,  as  became  the  scene.  A 


178  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

noticeable  feature  of  the  occasion  was  the  small 
number  of  Hawaiians  witnessing  the  event.  They 
were  showing  their  affection  for  their  former  queen, 
who  had  returned  to  her  native  land  a  few  days 
before.  No  people  have  stronger  love  for  their 
rulers  than  the  natives  of  Hawaii.  At  a  public 
reception  given  Liliuokalani  a  short  time  before, 
many  of  them  had  come  miles  to  pay  her  hom- 
age. To-day  their  absence  spoke,  more  forcibly 
for  them  than  any  words  could  have  done,  their 
feelings. 

In  more  ways  than  one  the  occasion  reminded  the 
spectators  of  a  funeral,  which  it  partly  was :  the 
last  rites  over  a  traditional  government.  The  na- 
tional anthem,  "  Hawaii  Ponoi,"  was  played  for 
the  last  time ;  the  bugle  tapped,  and  the  Ha- 
waiian ensign  of  the  Kamehamehas,  under  which 
many  of  those  present  had  been  born,  sank  from 
sight  for  ever  as  a  national  emblem.  Amid  the 
intense  silence  of  the  onlookers  came  the  bugle 
call  again,  the  band  played  the  "  Star  Spangled 
Banner,"  when  "  Old  Glory  "  rose  on  the  tropical 
breeze,  henceforth  the  national  flag  of  the  first 
republic  of  the  Pacific.  Cheers  now  rang  on  the 
air;  eyes  that  were  moist  with  tears  a  minute 
before  brightened  as  the  new  colours  made  a  beau- 


ANNEXATION.  179 

tiful  picture  overhead,  which  seemed  to  augur  well 
for  the  future. 

The  hour  fraught  with  so  much  sadness  to  the 
Hawaiian  passed,  and  having  a  better  and  fuller 
appreciation  of  the  new  era  dawning  upon  their 
home  land,  the  new;  subjects  of  Uncle  Sam  moved 
about  with  lighter  hearts  than  they  had  known 
since  the  beginning  of  the  revolution.  The  repub- 
lic has  nothing  to  fear  from  them,  for  more  loyal 
subjects  never  acknowledged  fealty  to  a  sovereign. 

The  population  of  the  islands  in  1896  was 
109,020,  divided  as  follows  among  the  different 
races  :  Hawaiian,  31,019  ;  mixed  Hawaiian,  8,485 ; 
Japanese,  24,000 ;  Chinese,  21,000 ;  Portuguese, 
15,000 ;  other  Europeans,  4,000 ;  Americans, 
3,086.  But  these  figures  do  not  forecast  the 
true  situation.  Notwithstanding  the  small  per- 
centage of  their  number,  the  islands  are  an 
Amerian  colony.  What  Hawaii  has  gained  of 
civilisation,  of  religion,  of  education,  and  govern- 
ment has  been  derived  from  American  sources. 
Neither  have  the  islands  been  unmindful  of  this. 
Everywhere  American  influence  has  been  acknowl- 
edged, and  American  counsel  sought.  They  proved 
their  loyalty  to  the  Union  by  sending  into  the 
army  during  the  civil  war  more  than  their  quota 


180  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

of  soldiers  voluntarily.  Our  patriotic  days  have 
been  observed  with  all  the  enthusiasm  as  at  home. 
In  Honolulu  Fourth  of  July  is  as  faithfully  kept 
as  here ;  Memorial  Day  sees  its  lines  of  marching 
veterans  filing  in  solemn  manner  to  the  graves  of 
her  soldier  dead,  followed  by  citizens  of  every 
nationality  as  sincere  mourners  ;  and  Thanksgiving 
Day  is  observed  with  even  greater  faithfulness 
than  in  New  England.  No  territory  of  the  United 
States  has  been  annexed  with  so  strong  a  leaven 
of  Americanism  as  these  islands. 

Chief  Justice  Judd  administered  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  President  Dole  and  the  other  officials, 
all  of  whom  were  authorised  to  conduct  the  local 
government  of  the  islands  until  Congress  should 
take  further  action  in  the  matter  of  administra- 
tion. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

VISTAS    OF    OAHU. 

,  if  not  the  largest,  the  most  fertile  or 
picturesque  of  the  group,  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  a  supremacy 
gained  for  it  by  its  harbours,  the  finest  in  the 
Pacific.  Its  seacoast,  broken  on  the  southeast  by 
rocky  islands,  and  on  the  southwest,  or  windward 
side,  by  rugged  cliffs  thrusting  their  high,  craggy 
breasts  down  to  the  very  edge  of  the  water,  where 
the  surf  beats  with  an  incessant  roar,  is  generally 
bordered  by  a  belt  of  fertile  plains  from  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  in  width  to  six  miles,  ascending  toward 
the  interior  until  stopped  by  the  mountain  ranges, 
whose  brown  and  yellow  tints,  showing  their  vol- 
canic origin,  contrast  vividly  with  the  perennial 
green  of  the  lowlands.  Between  these  ridges, 
which  look  in  the  sea  distance  like  terraced  hills 
and  detached  peaks,  are  frequent  valleys  and 
elevated  plateaus  of  great  fertility,  the  lava  beds 
of  unrecorded  days. 

181 


182  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

Long  sections  fringed  with  graceful  cocoa-palms 
raising  their  plumed  crests  on  fragile  stems,  a 
coral  reef,  often  half  a  mile  in  width,  nearly 
encircles  the  island. 

Trending  from  southeast  to  northwest  parallel 
mountain  ranges  cross  the  island  on  the  east  and 
west  sides.  The  highest  altitude  is  the  peak  of 
Kaula,  4,060  feet  above  the  sea,  and  belonging 
to  the  western  and  shorter  line.  Between  these 
backbones  of  Oahu,  and  forming  its  largest  agri- 
cultural districts,  is  Ewa  Plain,  at  places  ten  miles 
in  width  and  twenty  in  length,  extending  from 
the  shore  of  Pearl  River  harbour  on  the  south  to 
the  sandy  plains  of  Waialua  Bay  district  on  the 
north.  Next  in  size,  and  exceeding  it  in  fertility, 
is  the  rich,  alluvial  plain  of  Honolulu,  ten  miles  in 
length  and  two  in  width.  Another  ideal  tract  is 
Nuuanu  Valley,  bounded  by  a  mountain  wall 
twenty  miles  in  length  on  the  upper  side,  and 
below  by  the  green,  rolling  plain.  Among  the 
other  fertile  lands  are  Manoa  Valley,  inland  from 
Waikiki,  six  miles  south  of  the  capital,  and  the 
favoured  rice-fields  and  cocoanut  groves  of  Moana- 
lua,  scarcely  five  miles  from  Honolulu  in  the 
opposite  direction. 

At  the  foot  of  the  eastern  range  of  mountains, 


VISTAS  OF  OAHU.  183 

on  what  was  seventy-five  years  ago  a  treeless 
sand-plain,  sits  the  "  Mistress  of  the  Pacific/' 
her  back  to  the  wide  framework  of  lava  domes, 
volcanic  peaks,  and  truncated  cones,  grim  remind- 
ers still  of  those  days  when  this  scene  was  the 
amphitheatre  of  that  fiery  power  at  work  upon 
its  still  unfinished  task  of  building  the  Island 
Paradise.  Decked  with  her  flowers  and  profu- 
sion of  palms,  the  queen  sits  looking  out  upon 
the  shimmering  bay,  a  native  of  the  tropics,  with 
the  blood  of  the  temperate  zone  coursing  through 
her  veins. 

Honolulu  is  on  the  south  shore  of  Oahu,  nearly 
central  of  the  whole  group  of  islands,  and  has  a 
harbour  well  suited  to  the  needs  of  a  commercial 
metropolis.  It  is  said  that  Captain  Brown,  of  the 
English  ship  Butterworth,  was  the  first  white  man 
to  discover  the  bay,  and  he  gave  it  the  name 
of  Fairhaven.  This  was  very  appropriate,  but 
was  soon  forgotten  when  its  Hawaiian  substitute 
was  found  As  has  been  mentioned,  Kameha- 
meha's  John  Smith,  whose  surname  was  Young, 
advised  making  this  the  site  of  the  Hawaiian 
capital,  and  in  November,  1820,  the  little  fishing 
hamlet  was  occupied  as  the  future  seat  of  power. 

The  entrance  to  the  harbour  is  somewhat  difii- 


184  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

cult  to  those  ignorant  of  the  windings  of  its  pas- 
sage, but  once  the  way  is  made  the  incoming 
craft  ride  safely  at  anchor  within  its  protect- 
ing arms.  One  of  the  most  striking  landmarks 
that  attracts  the  approaching  seafarer  is  Leahi,  or 
Diamond  Head,  looking  in  the  distance  like  a 
huge  watch-dog  crouching  on  his  forepaws  at  this 
exposed  point,  while  he  continues  his  long  and 
lonely  vigil  over  the  sea.  Once,  when  its  sides 
throbbed  with  the  mighty  forces  at  play  within, 
it  must  have  presented  a  majestic  form,  — a  stu- 
pendous lighthouse  illuminating  far  and  wide 
the  troubled  waters.  But  its  mighty  walls  fell 
with  the  blowing  out  of  its  light  thousands  of 
years  ago,  and  ever  since  its  ruins  have  re- 
mained as  a  memento  of  its  former  greatness. 

Honolulu  has  a  population  in  round  numbers 
of  thirty  thousand,  a  cosmopolitan  people,  refined, 
intelligent,  prosperous,  earnest  in  whatever  they 
undertake.  You  see  this  in  the  cleanliness  of  the 
seventy  miles  of  streets,  in  its  well-built  brick  and 
stone  business  blocks,  in  its  handsome  residences, 
in  its  public  buildings,  in  its  good  roads  about 
the  city,  and  its  attractive  drives  into  the  country. 
It  is  a  city  of  foliage  and  flowers,  whose  tropical 
trees  and  plants  are  laden  with  a  wide  variety 


VISTAS   OF  OAHU.  185 

of  fruit  and  fragrance ;  it  is  preeminently  the 
city  of  homes,  where  tenement  houses  are  com- 
paratively unknown. 

The  public  buildings  are  in  keeping  with  the 
thriving  city,  among  which  can  be  named  the 
Government  Building  and  National  Palace,  fine 
buildings  both  of  them  in  settings  of  trees, 
flowers,  and  beautiful  lawns,  with  spacious 
grounds ;  Honolulu  Free  Library,  which  contains 
over  twelve  thousand  volumes  of  general  litera- 
ture ;  Post-Office  Building ;  Bishop  Museum ;  Pub- 
lic Hospital ;  lolani  Palace,  claimed  to  cost  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars ;  Aliiolani  Hall,  the  main 
government  building,  where  the  Legislature  meets ; 
Lunalilo  Home,  built  by  that  king  as  a  home 
for  aged  and  indigent  Hawaiians ;  Queen's  Hos- 
pital, intended  for  the  relief  of  Hawaiians  of 
both  sexes  free ;  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion Building;  Old  Folks'  Home;  Opera  House, 
capable  of  seating  one  thousand  people ;  Oahu 
Jail ;  Insane  Asylum  ;  Royal  Mausoleum,  and  many 
others.  Handsome  churches  of  various  denomi- 
nations, as  has  been  described,  and  good  schools 
of  the  several  grades  and  Oahu  College  speak  of 
the  moral  and  educating  influences  of  the  people. 
The  city  has  a  good  system  of  water-works,  and 


186  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

a  well  equipped  fire  department  with  latest  steam 
fire  engine. 

Honolulu  is  favoured  with  a  fine  lookout,  Punch 
Bowl  Hill,  the  burnt  off  cone  of  an  extinct 
crater,  rising  in  a  circular  form  to  a  height  of 
almost  five  hundred  feet,  with  the  town  and  its 
suburbs  at  its  base.  From  this  sightly  spot  the 
surrounding  country,  from  Diamond  Head  on  the 
east  to  Pearl  River  on  the  west,  is  spread  out  like 
a  panorama. 

The  most  popular  resort  of  the  island  is  the 
famous  Waikiki,  the  Long  Branch  of  Honolulu. 
Here  are  fine  private  residences,  picturesque 
cottages,  cool  and  delicious  groves  of  cocoanut- 
trees  which  were  the  favourite  resort  of  early 
kings ;  in  the  background  the  corrugated  moun- 
tain range ;  in  front,  the  wide  crescent  beach,  one 
horn  tipped  by  the  red  crag  of  Diamond  Head? 
and  the  other  by  the  opal  tints  of  Waianae 
range  ;  outside  the  emerald  sea,  dancing,  sparkling, 
inviting  all  to  its  soothing  embrace.  There  are 
attractive  bath-houses,  and  ocean  bathing  here 
has  none  of  the  chill  freshness  of  a  New  England 
atmosphere.  There  is  no  fairer  beach,  no  smoother 
bottom,  no  clearer  water  than  at  Waikiki,  and, 
what  is  better,  every  one  seems  to  catch  the  spirit 


VISTAS  OF  OAHU.  187 

of  the  native,  who  is  never  so  much  at  home  as 
when,  surf-board  in  hand,  he  rides  the  rolling 
billows.  The  poet  proves  something  of  its  entranc- 
ing beauty,  when  he  says : 

"The  cocoa,  with  its  crest  of  spears, 

Stands  sentry  round  the  crescent  shore, 
An  algaroba,  bent  with  years, 

Keeps  watch  beside  the  lanai  door. 
The  cool  winds  fan  the  mango's  cheek, 

The  mynah  flits  from  tree  to  tree, 
And  zephyrs  to  the  roses  speak 

Their  sweetest  words  at  Waikiki. 

"  Like  truant  children  of  the  deep 

Escaped  behind  a  coral  wall, 
The  lisping  wavelets  laugh  and  weep, 

Nor  heed  old  ocean's  stern  recall. 
All  day  they  frolic  with  the  sands, 

Kiss  pink-lipped  shell  with  wanton  glee, 
Make  windrows  with  their  patting  hands, 

And  singing  sleep  at  Waikiki." 

One  of  the  most  noted  spots  on  the  island  of 
Oahu  is  the  historic  Pali,  that  rugged  pass  in  the 
Waianae  range  where,  in  the  last  great  battle  of 
the  early  Hawaiians,  the  ill-fated  Oahuans  met 
their  tragic  fate  from  the  triumphant  warriors  of 


188  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

Kamehameha  the  Conqueror.  This  famous  place  is 
reached  from  Honolulu  by  a  wide,  well-worn  road 
leading  through  the  most  beautiful  dale  on  the 
island,  Nuuanu  Valley.  Over  this  broad  way  in 
the  shifting  scenes  of  the  busy  years  has  passed 
many  a  procession  of  historical  importance :  the 
dusky  ranks  of  an  invading  army,  the  dazzling 
cortege  of  a  triumphant  monarchy,  the  trooping 
throng  of  women  and  children  carrying  their  leis 
to  the  coronation  of  kings,  the  noisy  mob  of 
insurrectionists,  the  funeral  of  the  dead  monarch 
marching  silently  to  the  royal  mausoleum,  the  sad- 
eyed  columns  of  foreign  labourers,  with  hopeless 
homes  behind  and  homeless  hopes  ahead,  the 
standard  bearers  of  a  new  government,  —  all 
these,  with  many  others,  natives  and  strangers, 
have  passed  along  Nuuanu  Avenue. 

The  traveller  to-day  over  this  memorable  route 
passes  a  long  line  of  summer  villas,  —  it  is  always 
summer  in  Nuuanu  Valley,  —  crosses  the  bridge 
spanning  the  brawling  stream  running  from  the 
mountain  to  the  sea,  passes  a  landscape  touched 
with  the  skill  of  Japanese  artists,  passes  gray- 
walled  cemeteries  where  sleep  the  dead  of  the 
pioneers  of  Honolulu,  and  the  royal  mausoleum, 
where  the  funereal  cypress  bows  in  grief  over  the 


VISTAS   OF  OAHU.  189 

long  sleep  of  kings  more  generous  than  wise, 
passes  the  odd,  grotesque-looking  tea-houses  of 
the  Chinese,  passes  the  summer  palace  of  the  ill- 
treated  Dowager  Queen  Emma,  set  back  beyond 
rows  of  stately  palms,  passes  taro  patches  and 
banana  plantations,  and  large  pineapple  fields 
in  the  distance,  to  find  himself  at  last  fairly  in 
the  country. 

Now  he  passes  less  frequently  the  homes  of  the 
foreigners,  the  American,  the  European,  and  the 
Asiatic,  the  walls  and  wide  verandas  of  whose 
dwellings  are  overhung  with  trailing  vines  and 
flowering  plants.  If  he  is  an  American  he  is 
struck  by  the  unvarying  architecture  of  the  houses, 
which  seem  to  him  a  combination  of  the  New 
England  and  Southern  styles  of  building,  by  the 
absence  of  chimneys,  and  the  ever  open  doors  and 
windows.  He  soon  learns  to  tell  at  sight  the  home 
of  a  Portuguese  by  the  grape-vine  and  fig-tree 
before  his  door,  as  if  the  owner  would  not  feel  at 
home  without  these  reminders  of  his  fatherland. 
A  native  cottage,  the  frame  house  introduced  by 
the  missionaries,  —  few  grass  huts  being  seen  now, 
more's  the  pity  —  occasionally  greets  his  vision,  a 
taro  patch  and  bed  of  carnations  —  red,  pink, 
and  white  —  defining  his  nationality  as  surely  as 


190  THE  PAEADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

the   fig   and   vine   bespeak    that    of    his    foreign 
neighbour. 

Around  these  dwellings  are  seen  the  Kanaka, 
the  native  Hawaiian,  in  his  coarse  cotton  shirt 
and  trousers,  his  waihine  mare,  wife,  in  her  bright 
coloured  calico  holokus  falling  loosely  from  a  yoke 
at  the  shoulder  and  without  girdle  or  gathering. 
Thus  simply  and  singly  attired  she  might  be 
thought  to  be  unattractive,  but  with  her  profusion 
of  raven  hair,  tied  with  a  gay  bandelet  of  feathers 
and  ohia  blossoms,  softly  expressive  dark  eyes, 
pleasant  countenance,  erect  figure,  graceful  and 
steady  carriage,  she  commands  the  admiration 
of  the  beholder.  The  young  waihine,  woman,  a 
dazzling  vision  of  sparkling  eyes,  pearly  teeth, 
bright  flowers,  and  bare  legs,  is  never  more 
happy  than  when,  astride  of  her  flying  pony,  she 
startles  the  timid  stranger  with  her  boldness  of 
address,  her  voluptuous  bust  rounding  in  grace- 
ful curves,  her  undaunted  head  bound  with  a  bril- 
liant bandeau,  a  riding-robe  of  orange  or  crimson 
encircling  her  waist,  hips,  and  limbs,  and  thence 
suspended  waving  on  each  side  like  triumphal 
banners  in  token  of  confident  victory,  as  she 
dashes  past  as  free  and  fleet  as  the  trade-wind 
fanning  her  brow.  Saturday  afternoon  is  the 


VISTAS   OF  OAHU.  191 

time  usually  given  over  to  the  wild  spell  of  horse- 
manship. Then  the  whole  native  population  seems 
to  be  on  horse. 

Gradually  ascending,  the  road  leads  into  the 
region  of  perpetual  showers,  clothing  the  brown 
sods  of  the  hillsides  with  a  dense  sward  outrivalling 
for  freshness  and  tenderness  the  famed  blue  grass 
of  Kentucky,  and  decorating  the  vales  with  match- 
less ferns,  whose  long  fronds  are  tipped  with  a 
rich  red,  brown,  and  crimson.  Now  the  rank  grass 
and  ferns  yield  to  forests  of  wild  banana,  guava, 
and  candlenut,  with  occasionally  a  cocoa-palm. 
The  walls  of  the  valley  grow  higher,  steeper,  and 
narrower.  Waterfalls  tumble  headlong  over  per- 
pendicular chasms,  and  the  chill  wind  that  con- 
stantly fans  the  peaks  strikes  the  newcomer, 
sending  a  shiver  through  his  frame  for  the  first 
time  since  landing  on  Oahu's  shore.  He  has  now 
been  suddenly  transported  to  the  temperate  zone. 

Many  have  described  the  beauty  and  sublimity 
of  the  scene  from  the  Pali,  many  more  will 
attempt  it,  but  human  powers  of  description  will 
never  exhaust  the  theme  or  do  credit  to  the  wide 
panorama  of  tropical  plains,  valleys,  mountains, 
forests,  rocky  pinnacles,  and  sunny  sea  laid  at 
the  feet  of  the  admiring  beholder.  The  Pali, 


192  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

which  is  simply  a  Hawaiian  word  for  precipice, 
is  the  natural  gateway  between  the  two  sections 
of  Oahu,  separated  by  the  mountain  range  running 
across  the  island  from  shore  to  shore.  This  is  seen 
as  the  approaching  traveller  winds  up  the  wide 
road,  with  its  rocky  wall  along  the  west  side,  the 
perpendicular  cliff  on  the  other  hand.  Through 
this  gorge  the  wind  constantly  rushes  as  if  pro- 
pelled by  a  pair  of  mighty  bellows  hung  somewhere 
beyond,  and  he  is  glad  to  seek  the  protection 
of  the  small  lookout  erected  at  the  summit. 
Honolulu  now  lies  a  thousand  feet  below,  and 
between  five  and  six  miles  away ;  its  grove-like 
retreat  of  homes  and  churches  and  public  buildings, 
the  masts  of  the  ships  in  its  harbour,  and  that 
always-to-be-seen  Diamond  Head  are  just  distant 
enough  to  lend  charm  to  their  fair  environments. 

Other  to  <rns  and  hamlets,  other  church  spires 
and  schoolhouses,  rice  and  sugar  plantations, 
isolated  dwellings,  broad  plains  covered  with  their 
growing  crops,  ridges  of  smaller  hills,  with  dales 
between,  said  to  have  been  the  beds  of  an  inland 
sea,  and  far  beyond,  meeting  the  horizon,  where 
the  vision  ends,  rests  the  ocean,  looking  like  a 
huge  mirror. 

Upon  turning  in  the  opposite  direction,  toward 


VISTAS   OF  OAHU.  193 

Windward  Oahu,  the  sightseer  is  amazed  at  the 
vivid  contrast  in  the  vistas.  Instead  of  the  pretty 
villages  and  metropolis  of  men,  the  numerous 
plantations  and  scattered  dwellings  of  thrifty 
husbandmen,  green-clad  plains  and  verdant  val- 
leys, he  gazes  on  an  extensive  domain  of  unre- 
claimed lands,  of  fragmentary  mountains  whose 
splintered  pinnacles  pierce  the  overarching  sky, 
and  half-hidden  ravines  running  back  into  the 
rugged  heights,  narrowed  to  points  like  so  many 
huge  wedges  driven  by  some  giant  hand  to  hold 
the  ridges  apart,  that  there  might  be  room  at  their 
feet  for  the  lowlands  belting  the  shore.  It  is  seen 
now  that  Oahu  is  composed  of  two  dissimilar 
parts,  its  sunshine  and  its  shadow.  Amid  this 
broken  fastness  a  sugar  plantation  is  occasionally 
seen,  here  and  there  the  black  stack  of  a  sugar 
mill,  a  village  or  two,  isolated  homes  of  adven- 
turous fortune-seekers,  nearer  the  coast  the  few 
rice  fields  of  ambitious  Chinamen,  but  on  the 
whole  man  has  done  little  to  break  in  upon  the 
solitude  of  nature.  Beyond  this  wild,  mountainous 
country  the  coral  reefs  of  the  placid  Pacific,  its 
ultramarine  of  mid-ocean  in  the  shallow  waters  of 
the  Hawaiian  seas  becoming  an  emerald  hue, 
glimmer  faintly  in  the  vanishing  light. 


194  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

The  descent  into  this  shadowland  is  abrupt,  the 
road  winding  down  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  de- 
grees. The  tourist  gladly  turns  back  from  whence 
he  came,  and  no  longer  doubts  the  frenzy  of  the 
doomed  warriors  whose  wild  retreat  over  the  Pali 
gave  the  spot  such  a  tragic  interest. 

Next  to  Honolulu,  the  most  important  towns  on 
the  island  are  Kanehoe,  at  the  foot  of  the  Pali,  the 
largest  village  on  Windward  Oahu,  and  consider- 
ably cooler  than  at  the  capital  city ;  Waianae, 
nestling  at  the  base  of  the  mountains  in  a  narrow 
valley  on  the  southwest  coast;  Waialua,  a  large 
and  prosperous  village  at  the  north  end  of  the 
plain  of  that  name ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  Pearl 
City,  nineteen  miles  from  Honolulu  by  rail,  and 
the  rival  of  that  fair  city  in  its  beautiful  setting  of 
tropical  verdure.  This  town,  founded  by  the  Oahu 
Land  and  Railroad  Company,  and  belted  on  the 
north  by  a  fertile  strip  of  level  land  extending 
back  to  Ewa  Plains,  now  famous  for  the  big  Ewa 
sugar  plantation,  stands  on  a  peninsula  which 
extends  into  the  harbour  that  may  be  considered 
the  best  in  the  world  as  soon  as  it  has  been 
properly  dredged.  It  was  here  the  United  States 
secured  such  valuable  rights  in  1875.  Pearl  City 
has  long  been  a  favourite  resort  for  boating,  bath- 


SKHIKS    OF    CASCADES. 


VISTAS   OF  OAHU.  195 

ing,  and  fishing,  and  is  destined  to  rival  its  sister 
only  twelve  miles  distant  by  water  line. 

Above  all  else,  this  place  and  Honolulu  lend  to 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  their  real  value  as  a  posses- 
sion to  any  country.  Already  the  rapid  increase 
of  population  on  the  Pacific  slopes  of  America  has 
set  the  tide  of  navigation  toward  that  shore ;  with 
the  United  States  controlling  the  Philippines  and 
the  Nicaragua  Canal  a  reality,  who  can  foretell  the 
vast  amount  of  ocean  traffic  in  this  direction? 
However  great  its  growth  or  mighty  its  power, 
Hawaii  will  still  remain,  as  it  is  to-day,  the  one 
great  strategic  point  and  half-way  station  between 
the  continents,  the  arbiter  that  shall  control  and 
guide  the  commerce  of  the  Northern  Pacific.  With 
her  important  interests  at  home  and  abroad,  her 
capital  will  soon  be  not  only  "  Mistress  of  the 
Pacific,"  but  Empress  of  the  maritime  world. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

GRIM    MOLOKAI. 

r  I  ^HE  Garden  of  Eden  had  its  serpent,  and  a 
shadow  fell  across  the  path  of  man  even  in 
that  fairy-land.  The  modern  Adam  is  not  always 
satisfied  with  seeing  only  the  bright  side  of  the 
picture,  and  he  must  look  for  the  darker  colouring. 
He  imagines  there  is  a  shadow  somewhere,  —  a 
skeleton  in  the  closet.  Hawaii's  skeleton  is  the 
leper  ;  its  closet  grim  Molokai. 

Though  he  really  hears  less  of  them  after  reach- 
ing the  islands  than  he  had  before  coming,  the 
newcomer  feels  that  it  is  his  duty  to  visit  that 
dark  corner  holding  the  banished  victims  of  an 
incurable  disease.  It  is  not  as  easy  as  he  had 
expected  to  obtain  passage  to  the  out-of-the-way 
place.  It  is  true  the  Board  of  Health  make  a 
semi-annual  trip,  but  only  those  in  the  secret 
know  when  it  is  to  be  made.  The  object  of  this 
is  not  to  be  overcrowded  with  a  mob  of  curious 
foreigners  or  natives  who  have  friends  and  rela- 

196 


GRIM  MOLQKAI.  197 

tives  there.  Having,  through  some  special  influ- 
ence, gained  permission  to  accompany  one  of  these 
parties,  he  is  likely  then  to  find  a  stormy  passage, 
as  if  it  were  not  intended  that  the  lonely  spot 
should  be  easy  of  access, 

The  history  of  leprosy  on  the  islands  begins  in 
1853,  when,  in  addition  to  other  epidemics  and 
evils  thrust  upon  the  inoffensive  Hawaiians,  a  new 
disease  appeared  among  them,  which  they  named 
Mai  Pake,  or  Chinese  sickness,  as  it  had  been 
brought  to  the  islands  by  some  Chinamen.  In  the 
poor  condition  of  their  blood,  this  new  disorder 
soon  gained  a  startling  hold  on  the  native  popula- 
tion, so  that  as  early  as  1864  it  had  spread  to  an 
alarming  extent.  January  3,  1865,  the  Legisla- 
ture passed  an  act  to  have  those  afflicted  with  the 
dread  disease  taken  from  the  midst  of  others  who 
had  so  far  escaped  its  contaminations.  This 
necessitated  the  breaking  up  and  separation  of 
families,  but  it  would  enable  those  suffering  from 
it  to  be  better  treated,  and  it  was  hoped  to  stop  in 
a  measure  the  spread  of  the  complaint,  for,  singu- 
larly enough,  the  natives  showed  no  fear  of  it,  but 
persisted  in  mingling  freely  with  their  afflicted 
kin. 

A    peninsula    containing   some    five   thousand 


198  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

acres,  on  the  north  coast  of  Molokai,  was  selected 
as  the  most  fitting  place  to  carry  out  the  really 
humane  purpose  of  the  government.  This  com- 
prised the  fertile  valley  of  Kalawao,  surrounded 
on  three  sides  by  the  open  sea,  and  on  the  other 
by  a  steep  pali  from  two  to  three  thousand  feet  in 
height,  so  that  retreat  was  cut  off  in  every  direc- 
tion. 

The  enforcement  of  the  law  for  the  segregation 
of  lepers  created  no  little  trouble  for  the  authori- 
ties. Having  no  fear  of  catching  it,  the  inhabi- 
tants did  not  take  kindly  to  the  idea  of  having 
their  loved  ones  separated  from  them,  and  they 
did  everything  they  could,  in  many  cases,  to  baffle 
the  officers.  Others  went  willingly,  and  in  many 
instances  gladly,  for  it  meant  support  for  them 
and  a  certain  release  from  work. 

There  are  many  pathetic  tales  told  concerning 
the  enforcement  of  the  law.  On  the  island  of 
Kauai  a  very  beautiful  Hawaiian  girl  was  found 
to  be  afflicted  with  the  fearful  scourge,  and  it  was 
decided  best  to  take  her  to  the  leper  colony.  But 
this  doomed  maid  had  a  lover,  who  stoutly  re- 
monstrated against  this  course,  and,  in  his  despera- 
tion to  save  his  loved  one  from  such  a  fate,  he  fled 
with  her  to  the  fastness  of  the  forest.  Finding 


GRIM  MOLOKAL  199 

themselves  pursued  by  some  officers,  this  couple 
ascended  one  of  the  highest  palis,  and,  locked  in 
each  other's  arms,  leaped  to  death  on  the  rocks 
below.  Their  mangled  bodies  were  buried  in  one 
grave.  There  is  still  at  large  upon  this  island  a 
leper  man,  on  whose  head  is  offered  a  large  bounty 
to  him  who  can  effect  his  capture.  Defying  those 
who  have  hunted  him,  this  hapless  victim  of  an 
incurable  malady  has  killed  several  men  who  have 
attempted  to  take  him  to  Molokai.  Those  who 
have  seen  him  lately  say  that  ere  long  he  will  be 
obliged  to  yield  to  that  disease  whose  power  is 
greater  and  more  terrible  than  man's. 

Another  story  is  of  a  little  child,  whose  parents 
were  believed  to  be  in  good  health,  but  who  was 
pronounced  to  have  the  fatal  disease.  In  this 
case  the  officials  could  do  no  better  than  to  order 
that  she  be  taken  to  the  leper  colony.  The  dis- 
tracted mother  would  not  listen  to  this,  and  she 
plead  so  pitifully  that  a  respite  of  three  weeks 
was  allowed,  at  the  end  of  which  the  little  girl 
must  be  removed.  Thereupon  the  mother  prayed 
that  her  darling  Maunoa  might  die  before  the  end 
of  the  time,  and  though  no  one  accused  her  of 
harming  the  child,  she  began  to  fail  soon  after, 
and  on  the  morning  the  officers  came  for  her  she 


200  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

lay  dead  in  her  distracted  mother's  arms.  The 
little  one  was  buried  close  to  the  parents'  door, 
and  the  mother  watched  the  grave  as  tenderly  as 
she  had  in  life  watched  over  the  child.  It  was 
not  long  before  she  discovered  that  she  was 
afflicted  with  the  same  malady.  As  long  as  she 
could  she  kept  her  secret  from  others,  but  the  day 
finally  came  when  she  was  told  that  she  must  go 
to  Molokai.  Threatened  with  a  separation  from 
home  and  the  little  grave  dearer  to  her  than  all 
else,  she  resisted  stoutly,  when  the  officers  came  to 
carry  out  their  intentions.  It  was  said  that  she 
burst  a  blood-vessel  in  the  frantic  resistance ;  but 
be  it  that,  or  grief  and  terror,  she  dropped  dead  on 
the  mound  covering  her  child,  and  was  buried 
beside  her. 

The  rich  sought  to  buy  off  the  officials,  and  no 
doubt  often  did  for  a  time,  and  the  poor  sought 
concealment,  and  resorted  to  desperate  means 
rather  than  yield,  so  it  was  little  wonder  if  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  was  not  all  that  it  should 
have  been. 

The  example  set  by  a  learned  and  influential 
Hawaiian  named  Bill  Ragsdale  did  more  than  any- 
thing else  to  show  the  natives  the  good  intentions 
of  the  government,  and  caused  many  afterward  to 


GEIM  MOLOKAI.  201 

submit  with  a  good  grace  to  the  inevitable.  Rags- 
dale  was  a  lawyer,  rich,  and  of  great  influence  in 
public  affairs,  with  a  most  flattering  future,  when 
he  realised  that  he  was  a  leper.  No  one  else  had 
discovered  it,  and  in  his  position  he  might  have 
evaded  the  law  for  several  years.  Instead  of 
doing  that,  he  voluntarily  gave  himself  up  to  the 
authorities,  after  having  bade  adieu  to  friends  and 
relatives,  all  of  whom  tried  to  persuade  him  from 
his  course.  He  had  great  influence  among  his 
race,  though  he  was  part  white,  and  when  they 
witnessed  his  unselfish  act  it  had  a  beneficial 
effect  on  others.  The  name  of  Bill  Ragsdale  at 
once  became  a  term  of  respect  and  endearment. 
This  man  was  for  a  time  governor  of  Kalawao, 
and  many  of  the  improvements  for  the  comfort 
and  the  beauty  of  the  colony  are  due  to  him. 

Another  name  loved  and  revered  by  the  unfortu- 
nates of  Molokai  is  that  of  Father  Damien,  a 
native  of  Belgium,  born  in  1841,  who,  hearing  of 
the  suffering  and  hopeless  condition  of  the  lepers, 
went  to  Kalawao  in  1873,  to  devote  the  balance  of 
his  life  to  their  well  being.  Every  one  believed 
then  that  leprosy  was  infectious,  and  he  expected 
to  have  the  dread  disease  soon  or  late,  but  he  went 
about  his  task  with  a  calm  resignation  as  to  duty. 


202  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC, 

He  not  only  ministered  to  their  spiritual  welfare, 
but  he  dressed  their  horrible  wounds,  amputated 
diseased  parts,  sat  by  their  bedsides,  and  even 
helped  to  dig  their  graves,  ever  living  in  the 
terribly  tainted  atmosphere.  He  lived  among 
them  ten  years  before  he  contracted  the  disease, 
and  he  died  in  1889,  mourned  by  every  person 
who  had  known  him. 

Lepers  are  not  great  sufferers  as  a  rule,  and  they 
meet  their  fate  with  an  indifference  which  is 
melancholy.  The  average  life  at  Kalawao  is  four 
years.  Women  are  less  likely  to  have  it  than  men, 
and  it  is  swifter  in  its  results  with  children  than 
with  grown  people.  Sometimes  those  not  afflicted 
are  allowed  to  accompany  friends  there.  Women 
have  married  leper  husbands,  and  children  have 
been  born  of  such  unions  that  showed  no  signs  of 
the  disease.  Leprosy  is  not  as  contagious  as  it 
was  at  first  supposed,  still  it  is  not  well  understood 
even  after  all  the  investigation  that  has  been 
made.  But  under  the  present  enforcement  of  the 
law,  and  the  efficient  wTork  done  by  the  Board  of 
Health,  its  spread  has  been  pretty  thoroughly 
checked,  and  but  few  afflicted  with  it  are  now  at 
large.  In  time  it  is  believed  that  the  last  will  be 
found  and  the  terrible  scourge  stamped  out. 


GEIM  MOLOKAL  203 

There  are  now  at  Kalawao  eleven  hundred  cases, 
all  but  fifty  being  Hawaiians.  Thirty-two  of  the 
balance  belong  to  the  Chinese  race,  and  the  rest 
are  whites,  who  were  mostly  dissipated  persons. 
It  costs  the  government  about  a  hundred  dollars 
each  annually  to  care  for  these  charges,  everything 
being  done  that  can  be  for  their  comfort  and  wel- 
fare. There  are  Protestant,  Roman  Catholic,  and 
Mormon  churches,  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation Building,  schools,  reading-rooms  and  libra- 
ries, besides  dwellings  built  by  government  and 
wealthy  inhabitants  of  the  place. 

With  the  improved  methods  and  careful  study 
given  to  the  disease,  the  white  population  of  the 
islands  have  no  fear  of  it,  and  the  visitor  might 
travel  the  country  over  without  seeing  any  evi- 
dence of  it,  until  he  found  it  in  his  way  to  go  to 
Molokai's  lonely  north  peninsula.  Few  of  those 
who  have  visited  this  dark  corner  of  the  Island 
Paradise  have  come  away  without  feeling  they 
have  been  paid  for  their  pains,  and  yet  having  no 
desire  to  repeat  the  experience. 

Molokai  (Ania  Pali  in  the  native  tongue)  means 
"  Land  of  Precipices,"  and  no  truer  definition  was 
ever  given  a  name.  The  island  is  formed  by  a 
chain  of  volcanic  mountains  forty  miles  in  length 


204  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

by  seven  in  width.  The  lofty  heights  are  broken 
by  deep  ravines  and  gorges,  down  many  of  which 
are  swift-flowing  streams.  Still  nearly  a  third  of 
the  entire  area,  comprising  the  west  end,  is  deso- 
late of  vegetation,  and  will  remain  so  until  given 
a  more  plentiful  supply  of  water.  The  larger 
portion  of  the  population  live  on  a  narrow  strip  of 
coast  land  along  the  southern  shore ;  but  this 
fertile  land  is  too  dry  to  afford  many  kinds  of 
vegetation,  so  that  the  people  have  to  cultivate 
the  uplands  to  get  food.  On  the  whole,  aside 
from  its  unpleasant  reputation  as  the  home  of  a 
leprous  population,  though  imported,  it  is  the  least 
promising  of  the  seven  Hawaiian  Islands. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

PICTURESQUE    MAUI. 

HPHE  tourist,  arriving  at  Honolulu  and  wishing 
to  visit  the  larger  islands  and  their  principal 
points  of  interest,  finds  that  he  has  the  choice  of 
two  routes,  with  their  variations.  One  of  these, 
after  taking  him  along  the  lee  side  of  Molokai  and 
between  that  island  and  Lanai,  touches  at  Lahaina. 
Not  only  the  capital  and  principal  town  of  Maui, 
this  place  was  once  the  metropolis  of  the  islands, 
when  kings  had  their  palaces  and  foreign  consuls 
their  courts  here,  when  whale-ships  filled  its  har- 
bour, and  its  single  wide  street  was  thronged  with 
the  armed  retainers  of  royalty,  and  its  broad,  sandy 
beach  alive  with  many  races  of  people.  The  moun- 
tains, with  their  bare,  brown  slopes,  crowd  down 
close  to  the  sea  here,  so  close  that  the  village  is 
composed  of  but  one  street  overhung  with  groves 
of  cocoanuts,  tamarinds,  oranges,  and  breadfruits. 
Lahaina  has  changed  only,  since  those  halcyon 

205 


206  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

days  of  royalty  and  commerce,  in  a  backward 
course,  and  like  Mount  Eka,  which  long  since  lost 
its  fiery  vigour,  it  has  gone  to  sleep.  But  this 
slumber  is  now  being  broken  by  the  sugar  in- 
dustry, which  is  rapidly  giving  a  new  life  to  the 
antiquated  place,  proving  over  and  again  how  the 
fickle  hand  of  business  guides  the  destiny  of  towns 
as  well  as  men.  But  the  stop  of  the  steamer  is 
short  here,  and  we  leave  the  old  town  in  its 
dreams — 

"  Where  the  wave  tumbles, 
Where  the  reef  rumbles, 
Where  the  sea  sweeps, 
Under  bending  palm  branches. 

"  Where  the  hills  smoulder, 

Where  the  plains  smoke, 
Where  the  peaks  shoulder 

The  clouds  like  a  yokej 
Where  the  dear  isle 
Has  a  charm  to  beguile, 
As  she  lays  in  the  lap 
Of  the  sea  that  enfolds  her." 

Leaving  Lahaina,  the  steamer  coasts  along  the 
southern  shore,  soon  passing  under  the  lee  of  the 
western  highlands,  presenting  a  landscape  that 
cannot  be  excelled  by  any  other  in  the  world, 


PICTURESQUE  MAUL  207 

overtopped  by  Mount  Eka  wrapped  in  its  lava 
cloak,  grim  and  silent,  thence  across  the  watery 
inlet  which  nearly  makes  two  of  the  island.  Keep- 
ing close  in  to  the  shore  of  East  Maui,  where  the 
mountains  protect  the  coast  from  the  trade-winds, 
the  dreary  little  village  of  Ulupalakua  is  reached. 
Here  those  who  wish  to  make  a  trip  to  Haleakala, 
"  The  House  of  the  Sun,"  leave  the  steamer. 
Rising  ten  thousand  feet  into  the  air,  and  having 
a  crater  thirty  miles  in  circumference,  this  ex- 
hausted monster,  with  a  pit  2,700  feet  deep,  is 
almost  capable  of  swallowing  Vesuvius  entire, 
while  from  its  interior  rise  cones  of  scorise  to 
heights  which  dwarf  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  The 
poetical  Stoddard  declared  that  a  trip  to  its  summit 
was  "  a  horseback  journey  to  heaven,"  while 
another,  less  pleased  with  the  result,  turns  away, 
declaring  that  "it  should  be  called  the  Tomb,  and 
not  the  House  of  the  Sun,  and  that  volcanoes  have 
no  business  to  be  dead !" 

Next  leaving  the  rocky  islet  of  Molikini  to  the 
southeast,  and  farther  off  in  the  same  direction 
Kahoolawe,  the  course  is  across  Alalakeiki  Chan- 
nel, where  the  trade-wind  rushes  as  if  through  a 
flume,  to  Upolu  Point,  the  northern  extremity  of 
the  island  of  Hawaii.  Back  of  this  port  —  more 


208  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

properly  speaking  roadstead  —  stretch  extensive 
cane  fields,  through  which  runs  a  line  of  railroad. 

Coasting  along  this  shore  in  a  southerly  course, 
this  region  of  rich  verdure  is  soon  exchanged  for 
the  barren,  rainless  land  of  Lee  Hawaii.  Twenty 
miles  of  this  passage,  and  the  steamer  enters  the 
little  Bay  of  Kawaihe,  which  name  has  the  very 
poetical  definition  of  "  torn  water."  It  is  even- 
ing, and  the  southern  moon,  climbing  the  distant 
mountains,  throws  far  and  wide  over  the  placid 
sea  her  soft,  purple  beams,  while  Hualalai,  a  stark, 
brown  dome  against  the  sky,  casts  his  ten  thousand 
feet  of  shadows  over  the  checkered  landscape. 
This  volcano  has  shown  no  signs  of  life  since  1805, 
when  it  seemed  to  have  spent  its  final  fury. 
Standing  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  coast 
remains  an  evidence  of  paganism  in  the  last  heiau 
built  on  the  islands,  done  at  the  command  of 
Kamehameha  I.,  in  1791.  This  structure,  one  of 
the  best  specimens  of  its  kind,  has  walls  a  dozen 
feet  thick  at  the  base,  ten  feet  high  on  the  upper 
side  and  double  that  on  the  lower,  —  a  rude  paral- 
lelogram a  hundred  feet  wide  and  over  two  hun- 
dred feet  in  length. 

The  next  anchorage  is  not  found  until  historic 
Kailua,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  islands,  standing 


PICTURESQUE  MAUL  209 

by  a  bay  of  that  name,  is  reached,  when  the  sun 
has  replaced  the  moon,  and  the  mellow  atmosphere 
of  a  Hawaiian  dawn  makes  clear  the  scene.  Bor- 
dered by  a  rim  of  feathery  palms  and  set  with 
an  A-shaped  cluster  of  cottages,  this  place  presents 
an  odd  mixture  of  bygone  days  and  modern  times. 
Here  is  another  reminder  of  Kamehameha  the 
Great,  —  an  old  fort-like  building  made  of  mud 
and  lava.  Once  surrounded  by  hideous  idols,  tabu 
staffs,  and  grotesque  wooden  images,  intended  to 
awe  the  ignorant  masses,  it  was  here  the  old 
religion  had  its  headquarters,  and  here  the  tabus 
were  first  broken  by  his  son,  Liholiho,  upon 
whom  the  influence  of  women  was  stronger  than 
priestly  power.  The  gods  set  at  defiance,  the 
destruction  of  the  idols  and  temples  followed,  amid 
the  consternation  of  the  people.  In  memory  of 
the  wild  deeds  done  within  its  sacred  precinct, 
the  ruins  are  known  as  the  "  Place  of  Ghosts," 
where  no  one  with  ever  so  slight  a  lingering  of  the 
old  faith  sets  foot  after  nightfall.  In  later  years 
Kalakaua  had  his  country  residence  here,  the  royal 
mansion  being  now  the  property  of  the  dowager 
queen  Kapiolani.  A  presentation  in  more  ways 
than  one  of  former  days,  the  walls  of  this  spacious 
house  have  echoed  to  the  semi-barbarous  merriment 


210  THE  PARADISE   OF   THE  PACIFIC. 

of  the  profligate  king's  noted  laaus  and  hulas, 
witnessed  by  the  nobility  seated  in  the  rows  of 
famous  red  chairs.  In  marked  juxtaposition  to 
this  abode  of  a  monarch  who  was  not  unwilling 
to  see  the  ancient  customs  revived,  stands  the 
oldest  Christian  church  on  the  islands.  Built  of 
lava  blocks,  some  of  which  had  been  hewn  by  one 
of  the  ancient  kings  of  Hawaii  as  the  corner-stones 
of  a  pagan  temple,  this  house  of  modern  worship  is 
bare  and  desolate  enough  to  have  suited  the  most 
austere  of  Puritan  worshippers.  It  requires  no 
grievous  strain  of  the  imagination  to  transport  one 
back  to  the  scenes  of  the  early  missionaries  and 
their  odd  congregation  of  uncivilised  listeners,  who 
had  but  a  faint  inkling  of  the  new  creed  they 
professed  to  accept.  The  church  is  now  under 
charge  of  a  native  pastor.  But  it  is  not  so  much 
as  a  religious  seat  that  Kailua  is  noted  to-day. 
The  coffee  industry  is  the  prevailing  element,  and 
a  large  coffee  mill  is  seen,  the  most  noticeable  of 
modern  buildings.  Terms  of  the  Circuit  Court  are 
held  here. 

Kealakekua  Bay,  famous  for  its  associations  with 
the  name  of  Captain  Cook,  is  the  best  anchorage 
on  the  western  and  southern  coasts.  A  steep  pali, 
honeycombed  with  the  burial  caverns  of  the  Ha- 


PICTURESQUE  MAUL  211 

waiians,  a  rude  Polynesian  catacomb,  forms  the 
background  of  the  scene  here.  In  plain  sight 
of  the  shore  is  the  white  shaft  which  marks 
the  place  where  the  Great  Navigator  paid  the 
price  of  his  perfidy  to  the  native  race,  and  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  distant  are  the  ruins  of  the  heiau  of 
Kiki  Au,  where  he  received  the  homage  due  a 
god. 

Above  the  narrow  coast  rim  are  great  coffee 
plantations,  which  get  their  supplies  largely  at 
Napaupau,  across  the  bay  from  Kealakekua.  A 
little  lower  down  the  coast  is  another  ancient 
place  of  modern  interest,  Honaunau,  the  old  city 
of  refuge.  It  was  here  that  criminals  and  fugi- 
tives from  any  and  every  cause  fled  for  safety  in 
the  troublesome  days  of  yore.  Hawaii  had  two 
of  these  places,  planned  very  much  as  those  of 
the  Hebrew  Scripture.  The  other  was  on  the 
windward  side  of  the  island,  at  famous  Waipio, 
the  one-time  seat  of  royal  dynasty,  that  of  the 
renowned  Kihi  line  of  kings.  These  cities  of 
refuge  were  walled  towns  and  the  pagan  idea 
of  a  court  of  justice.  Idols  were  set  around  the 
enclosure  and  guards  stationed  round  about,  but 
whoever  was  fortunate  enough  to  gain  their 
shelter  was  safe.  After  a  certain  time  passed 


212  THE  PAEADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

within,  he  was  supposed  to  be  innocent  of  any 
crime,  and  given  his  liberty.  There  was  an  old 
saying  that  "  all  roads  led  to  Honaunau,"  which 
fact  is  pretty  well  attested  to-day  by  the  many 
paths  and  roads  winding  out  into  the  country 
above. 

Still  farther  south,  defying  with  its  solid  front 
several  miles  in  breadth  the  stormy  sea,  stands 
Lepeampa  Rock.  This  hard  lava  stone  bed  extends 
back  from  the  shore  for  nearly  a  mile  before  it 
becomes  invested  with  a  soil  of  sufficient  depth 
to  bear  the  ohia,  the  pioneer  of  Hawaiian  vegeta- 
tion. Two  miles  from  the  seaside  are  forests  of 
large  trees,  made  impenetrable  by  an  undergrowth 
of  reeking  vines  and  towering  ferns,  the  density  of 
the  growth  showing  where  the  mountains  have 
wrung  more  than  an  equal  share  of  the  moisture 
from  the  clouds. 

The  volcano,  always  an  objective  point  to  the 
tourist,  can  be  reached  by  a  road  at  Honuapo,  on 
the  southeastern  coast,  and  reached  after  the  mari- 
ner has  doubled  the  Cape  Horn  of  Hawaii,  Ka 
lae,  and  made  a  long  stretch  of  coast  exposed 
to  winds  and  high  swells.  From  thence  to  Hilo, 
the  general  destination  of  all  steamers,  the  shore 
is  precipitous,  and  above  that  city  it  is  even 


PICTURESQUE  MAUL  213 

wilder,  but  favoured  with  a  generous  foliage, 
which  always  exists  in  the  tropics  where  rain 
falls  plentifully. 

So  it  is  with  Hawaii  wherever  one  turns  his 
footsteps,  a  blending  of  fertile  lands  and  barren 
wastes,  the  first  clothed  with  a  verdure  so  rank 
and  dense  as  to  be  impassable  in  its  original  state, 
and  the  other  lava  beds  requiring  the  fertilisation 
of  the  atmosphere  of  centuries  to  come  before 
producing  a  representative  covering  of  Hawaiian 
vegetation. 

The  second  route  from  Honolulu  to  Hilo  takes 
the  traveller  to  the  windward  of  Maui  and  Hawaii, 
the  picturesque  side  of  the  islands.  East  and  West 
Maui  are  separated  by  a  wide,  arid  plain,  where 
even  the  hardy  ku-kui  hesitates  to  place  foot.  But 
on  either  side  of  this  broad  gateway  of  the  moun- 
tains the  scene  swiftly  changes  to  unsurpassed 
grandeur  and  sublimity.  In  the  midst  of  these, 
embowered  in  trailing  vines  and  gorgeous  lantanas, 
are  the  clustering  roofs  of  the  sugar  planters, 
scattered  far  and  wide,  here  and  there  the  black 
stack  of  some  mill,  and  on  the  line  of  the  railroad 
the  hamlet  of  houses  constituting  the  nucleus  of 
civilisation.  In  this  region  is  the  Spreckels  plan- 
tation, the  largest  in  the  world.  In  this  scene  is 


214  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

Kahului,  an  important  port  for  the  importations  of 
this  part  of  the  island,  which  smacks  so  strongly 
of  the  Orient  that  the  visitor  soon  comes  to  think 
that  he  is  in  the  homeland  of  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese. 

Better  than  this  picture  is  that  of  Wailuku, — 
at  its  back,  the  flowering  palis ;  at  its  feet,  the 
Pacific  combing  the  long  beach  with  anything  but 
the  placidity  of  its  name,  laying,  with  eternal 
perseverance,  roll  after  roll  of  snowy  fleece  on 
the  sandy  shore ;  beside  it,  the  river  from  which 
it  gets  its  name,  losing  here  the  impetuosity  of 
its  early  course  as  old  age  loses  its  fiery  zeal 
of  youth  on  nearing  its  earthly  goal  beyond ;  that 
matchless  corridor  of  nature  filled  with  the  melody 
of  waterfalls  and  the  perfume  of  orange-flowers, 
lao  Valley ;  above,  the  gray  clouds  which  give  to 
this  landscape  its  vesture  of  fadeless  beauty,  float- 
ing dreamily  in  the  cerulean  space. 

This  Mauian  valley,  which  no  tourist  fails  to 
visit,  has  been  compared  to  the  Yosemite  of  Cali- 
fornia. This  is  unjust  to  both.  There  can  be  no 
equitable  comparison  in  the  masterpieces  of  nature. 
The  entrance  to  the  laoan  storehouse  of  wonders 
is  through  a  long,  narrow,  massive  gateway,  whose 
perpendicular  walls  finally  reach  a  height  of  two 


WIMANO     HI.rKF. 


PICTURESQUE  MAUL  215 

thousand  feet,  the  roughness  of  their  masonry  con- 
cealed by  a  lacework  of  dark  green  foliage  spark- 
ling with  silvery  waterfalls  flashing  from  turret 
and  cornice.  At  last  the  passage  broadens  into 
a  court  of  such  lonely  grandeur  and  majesty  of 
architecture  that  the  intruder  instinctively  shrinks 
back  as  if  suddenly  brought  into  the  presence  of 
the  Omnipotent  Judge.  The  floor,  laid  in  lava 
blocks,  is  broken  on  the  one  hand  by  a  deep 
ravine,  through  which  flow  the  sullen  "  Waters  of 
Destruction,"  while  on  the  other,  amid  a  setting 
of  splintered  cliffs,  stands  that  laoan  sphinx,  the 
towering  Needle,  which  far  overtops  Cleopatra's 
famous  obelisk. 

The  early  kings  of  Maui  showed  their  apt  appre- 
ciation of  matters  earthly  and  immortal,  when  they 
selected  this  as  their  tomb.  Many  of  the  remains 
of  kings  and  chiefs  have  been  found,  grim  links 
connecting  barbarism  to  civilisation.  A  veritable 
burial-ground  this  vast  natural  coliseum  became 
when  the  faithful  followers  of  Kahekili  the  Thun- 
derer sacrificed  their  lives  on  these  rocks  rather 
than  yield  to  Kamehameha  the  Conqueror.  Not 
until  the  last  soldier  had  fallen  did  the  battle  end, 
and  the  waters  of  the  Wailuku,  breaking  through 
their  human  dam,  flowed  crimson  to  the  sea. 


216  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

Nowhere  in  history  is   there  a  more  vivid   asso- 
ciation of  the  tragic  and  the  sublime. 

But  lao  Valley  is  as  famous  for  its  prodigal 
display  of  vegetation  as  it  is  for  its  traditions  of 
human  tragedy  and  natural  sublimity.  Every- 
where, even  to  its  most  rugged  battlements,  are 
draperies  of  clinging  foliage  and  festoons  of  grace- 
ful creepers,  while  miniature  forests  of  guavas, 
overtopped  by  breadfruit-trees,  and  bordered  by 
rose  fringes,  meet  the  eye.  If  there  is  one  thing 
above  all  else  in  which  it  excels,  it  is  in  its  dis- 
play of  ferns,  no  kind  or  species  of  which  seem 
to  be  wanting  in  this  gorgeous  wealth  of  flowers 
and  foliage.  In  no  part  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands, 
famous  for  their  ferns,  are  so  many  kinds  found 
as  are  growing  here.  Who  enters  here  becomes 
fern-wild.  In  the  words  of  one  of  these  admirers : 
"  The  tourist  is  pretty  sure  to  forget  everything 
else  in  Hawaii.  In  vain  the  great  Pacific  rolls 
before  him  from  pole  to  pole ;  he  spies  a  fern 
in  the  cranny  of  the  rock,  and  have  it  he  must. 
Is  he  walking  the  high  bridge  which  spans  the 
deep-flowing  Wailuku  at  Hilo  (another  river  on 
the  larger  island  by  this  same  name),  and  are  the 
deepening  shades  of  evening  lighting  up  the  sum- 
mit fires  of  Mauna  Loa,  he  is  lost  to  the  rare 


PICTURESQUE  MAUL  217 

scene  if  he  but  thinks  he  sees  a  new  fern  grow- 
ing out  of  the  trunk  of  the  old  breadfruit-tree. 
All  through  the  lively  woods  of  Puna,  or  along 
the  forest  path  to  Kilauea,  his  eyes  are  searching 
the  undergrowth  for  his  peculiar  prey.  And  even 
as  he  comes  home  from  lao  the  terrible,  the  beau- 
tiful, the  only,  for  surely  the  world  has  no  other 
valley  like  it,  his  thoughts  are  busier  with  the 
pressed  volume  of  leaves  which  he  hugs  to  his 
side,  than  with  the  majesty  and  wonder  of  the 
scenery  he  has  been  contemplating."  Still,  when 
this  innocent  bewitchery  has  flown,  when  the  ferns 
have  crumbled  to  dust,  the  mind  will  cherish  the 
memory  of  that  great  natural  wonder  of  Maui, 
its  legends  and  associations  of  another  day  and 
another  people. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    ISLAND    BUILDER. 

\1  7INDWARD  Hawaii  has  less  of  historic 
interest  than  the  lee  side  of  the  island ; 
but  it  is  far  richer  in  its  great  abundance  of  natu- 
ral wealth,  which  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
here  there  is  plenty  of  rain,  while  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  mountains  the  atmosphere  is  dry.  The 
country  is  broken  and  rugged,  the  coast  line  often 
being  long  ridges  of  rock  pushing  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  rising  sometimes  to  the  height  of 
two  or  three  hundred  feet. 

The  only  harbour  on  the  entire  northeast  sweep 
of  coast  is  Hilo  Bay,  or  Byron  Bay,  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  for  the  commander  of  the  English 
frigate  Blonde,  which  it  will  be  remembered 
brought  home  the  remains  of  Kamehameha  II. 
and  his  queen,  both  of  whom  died  while  on  a  visit 
to  England.  The  natives  named  the  place  Waia- 
kea,  meaning  "broad  water,"  and  on  the  south 

218 


THE  ISLAND  BUILDER.  219 

shore,  separated  from  the  city  of  Hilo  by  a  cres- 
cent-shaped beach,  on  which  the  breaking  surf 
"looks  like  frosted  silver,"  is  a  little  village  by 
that  name.  The  bay  is  seven  miles  wide  and 
three  miles  deep,  a  submerged  coral  reef  running 
from  Cocoanut  Island  on  the  south  to  within  half 
a  mile  of  the  north  side  of  the  harbour,  leaving  a 
passage  of  that  width  for  the  entrance  of  vessels. 
With  this  protecting  arm,  the  ships  riding  at 
anchor  here  are  still  exposed  to  the  northeast 
trade-wind. 

On  the  west  shore  of  the  harbour,  on  an  in- 
clined plane,  amid  extensive  groves  of  cocoanuts, 
bananas,  plantains,  and  breadfruits,  with  large 
sugar  plantations  in  the  background,  stands  Hilo, 
"the  ambitious  city."  It  has  been  aptly  said  that 
what  Honolulu  aspires  to  be  Hilo  is.  It  is  also 
the  common  expression  that  it  rains  every  day  in 
Hilo.  If  an  occasional  day  is  missed  it  is  certain 
that  this  locality  has  the  largest  amount  of  rain- 
fall of  any  part  of  the  islands,  and  it  is  due  to 
this  fact  that  the  country  in  this  vicinity  is  re- 
markable for  its  verdure,  —  a  vegetation  which  is 
always  green. 

The  appearance  of  the  town  is  less  American 
than  at  Honolulu,  the  architecture  of  the  buildings 


220  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

being  a  sort  of  cross  of  European  and  Oriental 
designs.  But  there  is  nothing  sleepy  about  the 
place,  and  the  American  element  predominates, 
though  Japanese  and  Chinese  have  each  got  a 
good  hold.  It  has  its  share  of  public  buildings, 
its  churches,  its  schoolhouses,  and  the  largest 
public  library  on  the  islands. 

At  Hilo  we  are  on  historic  ground,  and  its  meles 
take  us  back  into  the  past  many  generations 
beyond  those  of  Honolulu.  It  was  here  the  Con- 
queror had  one  of  his  early  battles  in  laying  the 
foundation  for  his  conquest,  while  many  legends 
of  the  curious  and  mysterious  beings  that  peopled 
the  superstitious  minds  of  the  Hawaiians  still 
cling  to  the  romantic  dales,  waterfalls,  palis,  and 
deep-wooded  mountainsides.  Only  a  mile  from 
the  town  is  Rainbow  Falls,  whose  waters  are  so 
delicately  coloured  by  the  sun's  rays  that  the 
natives  believed  a  fairy  lived  in  the  waters  clothed 
in  the  variegated  hues  of  the  rainbow. 

Above  the  chain  of  sugar  plantations  flanking 
Hilo,  and  extending  up  and  down  the  coast  for 
sixty  miles,  is  a  wider  band  of  open  country, 
covered  with  a  cloak  of  rank  grass ;  still  above 
this  is  a  yet  broader  belt  of  forest,  whose  foliage 
presents  a  gradual  but  marked  change  from  the 


KAINHOU      I'AI.I.S,     IIILO. 


THE  ISLAND  BUILDER.  221 

verdure  of  the  tropics  to  the  polar  clime,  until,  far 
above,  the  snowy  crest  of  Mauna  Kea  stands 
boldly  out  against  the  sky. 

Hawaii  has  the  loftiest  and  mightiest  mountains 
of  any  islands  in  the  world.  Considered  from 
their  base  at  the  bottom  of  the  Pacific,  the  two 
giants,  Mauna  Kea  and  Mauna  Loa,  lift  their 
volcanic  heads  thirty  thousand  feet  into  the  air,  — 
almost  six  miles  !  The  first  is  thirteen  thousand 
and  nine  hundred  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
sea,  while  its  mate  is  less  than  two  hundred  feet 
its  inferior  in  height,  and  more  than  its  equal  in 
every  other  respect. 

At  Hilo  we  begin  to  get  a  vivid  idea  of  the 
greatest  of  island  wonders,  the  volcanoes.  The 
beauties  and  picturesque  features  of  the  flora  and 
forests,  the  palis  and  valleys,  the  waterfalls  and 
coral  shores,  are  overshadowed  by  the  volcanic 
cones  whose  fires  have  illumined  land  and  sea  for 
ages  beyond  the  computation  of  man.  Its  summit 
crater,  Mokuaweoweo,  wrapped  in  its  trailing  vest- 
ment of  clouds,  is  a  grand  spectacle  of  volcanic 
majesty. 

Though  sleeping  now,  the  fires  of  this  volcano 
are  only  banked,  and  at  what  moment  they  may 
break  forth  is  unknown.  Several  eruptions,  some 


222  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

of  which  cost  many  lives  and  great  loss  of  prop- 
erty, have  occurred  during  the  present  century. 
In  1832  there  was  an  overflow  lasting  four  weeks, 
and  again  in  1843  an  eruption  took  place,  when 
the  lava  flowed  for  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles. 
Other  eruptions  followed,  one  of  which,  after  send- 
ing out  its  stream  of  lava  for  a  mile,  was  suddenly 
checked,  the  molten  river  disappeared  into  the 
earth,  and  that  seemed  to  be  the  last  of  it.  But 
four  days  later  another  shock  shook  the  island  to 
every  extremity,  and  the  lava  stream  burst  through 
the  earth  in  the  forest  of  northeastern  Puna,  rush- 
ing down  to  the  sea  with  terrific  power,  over- 
whelming many  people  and  destroying  the  country 
as  far  as  it  reached.  In  the  Puna  district  are  yet 
to  be  seen  strange  reminders  of  the  overflows  in 
the  shape  of  lava-tree  forests.  The  molten  lava 
having  covered  the  trees,  often  to  a  height  of 
twenty  feet,  congealed  before  the  encased  wood 
burned,  and  now  stands  hollow  skeletons  of  the 
greenwood  hundreds  of  years  old. 

In  1859  an  immense  flow  rushed  down  between 
Mauna  Kea  and  Hualalai,  reaching  the  sea  at 
Wainanalii,  a  distance  of  thirty-three  miles,  in 
eight  days.  The  worst  eruption  of  which  there  is 
written  record  took  place  in  1868.  This  time 


[•I 


THE  ISLAND  BUILDER.  223 

severe  earthquakes  rocked  the  whole  island  like  a 
cradle,  and  the  southeast  coast  of  Puna  sank 
several  feet.  A  fountain  of  lava  was  thrown 
upward  a  thousand  feet,  which  abruptly  collapsed, 
and  the  mountain  dome  appeared  clear  against  the 
sky.  Five  days  later,  on  April  2d,  a  molten  river 
burst  through  a  fissure  in  the  earth  just  south  of 
Hilo  with  a  terrific  force  and  volume.  It  had 
travelled  over  twenty  miles  underground  before 
finding  this  vent,  and  now  four  huge  fountains 
seethed  and  tossed  hissing  lava  and  rocks  tons  in 
weight  high  into  the  air.  From  this  a  furious 
stream  of  red  lava  —  a  river  of  fire  from  two  to 
eight  hundred  feet  in  width  and  twenty  feet 
deep  —  swept  down  to  the  sea  at  a  rate  of  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  miles  an  hour.  Everything  in 
its  pathway  was  destroyed,  and  one  of  the  fairest 
pastoral  regions  of  the  island  transformed  into  a 
tract  of  barren  earth.  The  entire  southeastern 
coast  sank  from  four  to  six  feet,  destroying  sev- 
eral villages  and  their  inhabitants.  The  terrified 
people  in  the  vicinity  fled  into  Hilo,  and  conster- 
nation everywhere  reigned. 

The  horrors  of  this  eruption  were  repeated  in 
1881,  the  outburst  having  begun  November  5th 
the  preceding  year.  Portions  of  the  shore  sank 


224  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

this  time,  while  others  were  lifted  up ;  tidal  waves 
fifty  feet  in  height  swept  the  coast  at  the  en- 
gulfed places,  and  the  people  left  the  island  as 
fast  as  they  could  find  means.  Three  streams 
of  lava  flowed  from  the  summit  of  Mauna  Loa, 
one  of  them  coming  within  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  of  Hilo.  The  city  seemed  doomed,  and 
the  vessels  for  Honolulu  were  crowded  with  the 
fugitives. 

At  this  critical  period  an  instance  occurred 
which  showed  how  deeply  were  still  fixed  the 
roots  of  the  old  superstition.  Amid  the  digging 
of  trenches,  building  of  walls  to  protect  the  town, 
and  the  making  of  prayers  for  the  deliverance  of 
the  people,  a  surviving  sister  of  the  Kamehamehas 
Fourth  and  Fifth,  at  the  time  living  in  Honolulu, 
declared  that  she  could  check  the  wrath  of  the 
goddess  of  the  volcano.  "I  will  save  the  fish- 
ponds of  Hilo,"  she  said.  "  Pele  will  not  refuse  to 
listen  to  the  prayers  of  a  Kamehameha."  She 
went  to  the  threatened  town,  and,  surrounded  by 
a  large  and  anxious  crowd  of  spectators,  caused  to 
be  built  an  altar  in  the  pathway  of  the  approach- 
ing stream.  Here  she  made  her  appeals  to  the 
goddess  Pele,  offered  her  sacrifices  to  the  lava,  and 
then  returned  to  her  home.  As  if  in  answer  to 


THE  ISLAND  BUILDER.  225 

her  commands,  the  fiery  river  ceased  its  advance 
at  once,  and  its  congealed  flood  stands  to-day 
as  a  wall  to  the  Hawaiian  belief  in  the  power 
of  the  gods  disowned  more  than  half  a  century 
before. 

Other  examples  of  the  work  of  Manna  Loa, 
though  less  striking  than  these  mentioned,  are 
recorded,  while  tradition  kindles  with  cataracts 
of  leaping  fire  and  clouds  of  crimson  smoke  and 
hissing  steam.  There  were  years  which  had  no 
days  clear  from  the  smoke  of  underground  fur- 
naces nor  nights  that  were  not  lurid  with  flames. 
The  Hawaiian  ineles  tell  of  rivers  of  fire  bursting 
out  of  the  hot  earth  and  flinging  its  liquid  masses 
over  a  pali  a  thousand  feet  in  height,  to  fall  hiss- 
ing and  seething  into  the  ocean.  A  pillar  of  fire 
six  hundred  feet  in  circumference  once  spouted 
from  the  crest  of  Mauna  Loa  to  a  distance  of  over 
a  thousand  feet,  which  lasted  for  twenty  days, 
without  a  night,  so  brilliant  was  the  scene  for  the 
distance  of  nearly  a  hundred  miles !  As  a  monu- 
ment of  this  grand  display  a  cone  a  mile  in  cir- 
cumference was  builded  on  its  summit.  Thus  has 
been  builded  by  this  master  workman  an  island, 
layer  on  layer,  hill  on  hill,  from  the  seacoast  to 
the  volcanic  crest,  the  melting,  forging,  welding, 


226  THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

casting  out  of  the  molten  matter  by  the  ever- 
living  fires  of  the  furnaces  within  the  crater, 
while  the  surcharged  products  have  been  fertilised 
by  sun  and  wind,  heat  and  moisture,  until  the 
naked  and  deformed  rock  has  been  clothed  in  a 
tropical  verdure. 

For  an  active  example  of  the  work  of  this 
mighty  island  builder  we  have  only  to  turn  to 
that  lateral  orifice  of  Mauna  Loa,  Kilauea.  With 
the  exceptions  of  the  brief  intervals  when  an 
overflow  or  breaking  out  was  taking  place  on 
the  main  mountain,  this  crater  has  kept  up  a 
continual  exhibition  of  its  internal  forces.  For  a 
period  antedating  the  known  history  of  the  islands 
this  volcano  has  been  building  within,  laying  its 
foundations  deep  down  in  the  sea,  thickening  and 
strengthening  its  walls,  until  to-day  this  "  House 
of  Fire,"  Halemaumau,  holds  within  its  compass 
the  greatest  evidence  of  volcanic  energy  in  the 
world.  Before  that  it  was  different.  Barrier  after 
barrier  must  have  been  broken  down,  and  deluge 
after  deluge  of  the  fiery  floods  flung  out  upon  the 
surroundings,  until  the  walls  had  been  lifted  four 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  its  present  height. 
Now,  when  the  interior  has  again  been  filled  with 
its  molten  mass,  and  the  surging  waves  and  break- 


THE  ISLAND  BUILDER.  227 

ers  of  the  "  burning  lake  "  dash  over  the  rim  of 
the  cone,  or  become  strong  enough  to  break  down 
its  wall,  again  will  the  surrounding  country  be 
overlaid  with  lava  deposits,  each  layer  adding  so 
much  to  the  present  height  of  the  mighty  shell. 
That  this  stage  is  surely  coming  is  foretold  by 
the  gradual  rise  of  the  successive  exhibits  of  the 
"  rock-consuming  forces." 

The  only  overflow  of  Kilauea,  so  far  as  is 
known,  took  place  in  1789,  while  the  army  of 
Keoua  was  on  its  march  from  Hilo  to  meet  Kame- 
hameha  at  Kau  in  a  decisive  battle  for  the  su- 
premacy of  the  island.  The  course  taken  by  this 
body  of  warriors  led  near  to  the  crater,  which  had 
been  silent  longer  than  any  of  their  priests  knew, 
and  as  they  drew  near  by  night  the  darkness  was 
suddenly  illumed  with  dazzling  sheets  of  flame, 
and  such  a  storm  of  cinders  and  rocks  fell  about 
the  natives  that  they  fled  for  their  lives.  Kallied 
by  their  chief  in  the  valley  below,  for  two  days 
they  were  witnesses  of  a  scene  which  carried  ter- 
ror to  the  stoutest  hearts.  All  the  time  deep  peal 
upon  peal  of  thunder  rolled  over  their  heads,  while 
clouds  so  black  they  darkened  the  sun  at  midday 
rose  from  the  crater,  lighted  at  intervals  by 
flashes  of  lightning  so  vivid  that  they  were  com- 


228  THE  PARADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

pelled  to  close  their  eyes.  At  last  they  were 
urged  to  resume  their  march,  but  as  they  were 
passing  the  volcano,  such  a  shower  of  lava,  sand, 
and  rocks  was  flung  upon  them  that  the  majority 
were  overwhelmed,  the  survivors  fleeing  in  dis- 
may. This  was  believed  by  the  natives  to  be  a 
direct  interposition  on  the  part  of  Queen  Pele  in 
behalf  of  Kamehameha. 

A  public  highway  leads  from  Hilo  to  the  vol- 
cano twenty  miles  distant  from  that  town,  and 
the  sightseer  who  has  climbed  the  steady  ascent 
from  the  sea,  after  passing  through  a  typical  Ha- 
waiian forest  and  green  fields,  finds  himself  on 
the  very  brink  of  the  crater  without  having 
received  any  warning  of  his  approach  to  the 
"regions  infernal."  If  he  had  come  from  Kau, 
on  the  other  side,  the  only  difference  would  have 
been  an  exchange  of  forest  for  desert,  of  the  green 
of  the  growing  crops  for  the  brown  of  the  lava 
fields.  If  he  has  missed  the  anticipated  trem- 
bling of  the  earth,  the  deep,  sullen  roar  of  the 
Plutonian  hosts  imprisoned  here,  the  effect  is 
the  more  impressive  as  he  stands  suddenly  on  the 
threshold  of  this  "  House  of  Fire,"  with  walls 
seamed  and  twisted  by  earthquakes,  and  floor 
laid  in  blocks  of  melted  stone.  With  feeling 


THE  ISLAND   BUILDER.  229 

akin  to  terror  lie  gazes  spellbound  on  the  up- 
heavals of  lurid  fountains  sending  their  spiral 
columns  high  into  the  air,  of  huge  boulders  tossed 
on  the  crests  of  crimson  waves ;  on  tides  of  liquid 
flames  surging  against  the  sides  of  this  burning 
lake ;  on  ten  thousand  torches  lighted  by  no 
human  hand,  fading  and  rekindling  with  start- 
ling rapidity ;  on  the  areas  of  boiling  lava,  now 
rising  on  the  swelling  flood,  now  sinking  deep  into 
the  bottomless  regions  from  whence  came  all  this 
molten  mass,  —  on  all  this  and  more  that  cannot 
be  described,  until  he  feels,  as  he  never  has 
before,  the  power  and  the  presence  of  the  in- 
finite builder  of  the  world.  Before  this  sight  all 
else  on  earth  pales  into  insignificance  and  is  for- 
gotten. 

As  this  is  written,  report  comes  that  Mauna 
Loa  is  again  in  convulsion,  that  Hilo  is  once 
more  threatened,  and  the  people  are  seeking 
safety  in  flight.  Shocks  of  earthquake  shook  the 
island  for  twenty-five  miles,  and  were  felt  in 
Honolulu.  There  are  two  streams  of  lava  flowing, 
one  toward  Kau,  and  the  other  in  the  direction  of 
Hilo.  The  damage  to  property  has  already  been 
considerable.  So  it  will  be  until  the  volcanic 
forces  which  have  been  building  the  islands  shall 


230  THE  PAEADISE   OF  THE  PACIFIC. 

be  spent,  and  Hawaii,  like  her  sister  islands,  be 
emancipated  from  its  thraldom  of  fire.  Then, 
indeed,  with  its  happy  people,  will  it  be  the 
Paradise  of  the  Pacific. 


THE    END. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


USE 

SEP    4 

CIRCULATIO 


MAR  1  6  1955  LU 


60PM 


1960 


ONI#E  TD  LD 


T. 


RECEIVED 

SEP 


21-100m-9,'48  (B399sl 


BOOOflbOI 


